Half of the drugmakers required to report information about significant quality problems with products they shipped failed to do so between 2018 and 2021, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes about a new FDA report on pharmaceutical quality.
Why it matters: The so-called field alert reports (FARs) are a key barometer of drug plant quality and are used to assess the risk to the public and the adequacy of a company's response.
As Medicare's open enrollment season approaches, it's possible a majority of seniors will choose a Medicare Advantage plan for next year rather than traditional Medicare, according to a KFF report.
Why it matters: Medicare Advantage has been growing quickly thanks to promises of capped out-of-pocket costs, vision and dental benefits, and perks like fitness classes.
Moderna is suing Pfizer and BioNTech, alleging they copied technology that Moderna first developed years before the pandemic in producing the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the U.S., the company announced Friday.
Driving the news: Moderna is seeking unspecified monetary damages for patent infringement. It said its lawsuit is not seeking to take its competitors' vaccine off the market or an injunction to stop its future sale.
The Biden administration is marking a day of action Friday on reproductive rights, recognizing the impact the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has had on access to abortion in the last two months, officials said.
Driving the news: The administration and the Department of Health and Human Services are hosting a meeting at the White House with state and local elected officials from across the country to discuss how states can protect access to care and how their efforts can supported at the federal level.
With the midterms looming, vulnerable congressional Democrats are wagering that health care provisions in the just-passed $740 billion reconciliation bill will give them an edge and possibly preserve their razor-thin majorities.
Why it matters: Recent projections show Republicans likely to flip control of the House. But Democrats are trying to reprise their 2018 campaign playbook with messaging around bill language allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of some drugs and extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years.
