ISSUE 38 – OCT. 10, 2014 |
NCI Failed to Publish Two Bypass Budgets
As Funds Tightened and Sequestration Set In
What’s the NCI director’s professional judgment of opportunities in cancer research at a time of shrinking budgets, sequestration and conclusion of the windfall of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?
Under ordinary circumstances, this question wouldn’t have required a mind reader. The NCI director has an authority no other government executive enjoys: every year, he submits a summary of scientific opportunities directly to the White House, bypassing review by the NIH director and officials at the place ominously called “Downtown,” the brutalist-style HHS headquarters at the base of Capitol Hill.
![]() ![]() | Guest EditorialAndrew Vickers on PSA Skepticism, Rational and IrrationalI consider myself a prostate cancer screening skeptic. For example, in the title of the grand rounds lecture I have given for many years, I describe PSA as a “public health fiasco.”I have also gone on the record to state: “PSA testing as it is commonly practiced in the U.S. is indefensible.” |
![]() ![]() | UT Board Announces Support for MD Anderson Tenure SystemThe University of Texas System Board of Regents has—in response to the threat of censure by an external group—voted to continue support of MD Anderson Cancer Center’s seven-year term tenure system. |
![]() ![]() | Study: Drug Discounts Used For Wealthier Patients In Many 340B-Enrolled HospitalsHospitals that qualified for the 340B drug pricing program in 2004 or later were more likely to serve wealthier communities with higher rates of health insurance coverage, according to a study published Oct. 6 in the journal Health Affairs.The primary purpose of the 340B program—established by Congress in 1992—was to provide significantly discounted outpatient drugs to low-income and uninsured patients. |
![]() ![]() | In Brief
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![]() ![]() | Drugs and Targets
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