Small business owners aiming to unseat incumbents in midterms, poll shows

Small business owners aiming to unseat incumbents in midterms, poll shows-washingtonpost-Roughly four in five small business owners in states with elections coming up in November say they plan to vote, and among them, four in five are planning to cast their ballot for a challenger, according to a poll released Tuesday by online small business directory Manta.

Federal deficit narrows, CBO says, but bigger gap coming

Federal deficit narrows, CBO says, but bigger gap coming-politico: The federal deficit will narrow this year and next, new data from the Congressional Budget Office shows, but federal debt is expected to climb again in the latter part of the decade as tax receipts fall and spending on retirement and health care programs rise. Revised data released on Wednesday showed that the projected shortfall this year will be $506 billion rather than the $492 billion the nonpartisan group predicted in April, but still $170 billion smaller than the deficit in 2013.

Drug Firms Say They Properly Submitted Doctor-Pay Data That CMS Removed | InsideHealthPolicy.com

Drug Firms Say They Properly Submitted Doctor-Pay Data That CMS Removed | InsideHealthPolicy.com: "The brand drug lobby's top lawyer says pharmaceutical companies correctly submitted physician-pay information that CMS withheld from the Open Payments website and wants the agency to explain why it removed one-third of the records last month after initially blaming industry for improper submissions."

Lawmakers Continue Press For Medical Innovation Reforms During Recess | InsideHealthPolicy.com

Lawmakers Continue Press For Medical Innovation Reforms During Recess | InsideHealthPolicy.com: "As the August congressional recess draws to a close, a slew of House lawmakers within and beyond the Energy and Commerce Committee are drawing ideas from local constituents and key officials about medical innovation that could be included in discussions for the House 21st Century Cures Initiative."

HELP Committee Unveils Draft Proposing Sunscreen, OTC Review Timelines

HELP Committee Unveils Draft Proposing Sunscreen, OTC Review Timelines-insidehealthpolicy: Top lawmakers on the Senate health committee Friday (Aug. 22) unveiled a discussion draft bill that would streamline FDA's evaluation of sunscreen ingredients by establishing a timeline for reviews and also push the agency to establish timelines for other over-the-counter ingredients. The draft builds on the House-passed Sunscreen Innovation Act by adding OTC reforms. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) back the draft bill and are seeking public comment. The Senate discussion draft would clear a backlog of sunscreen ingredient submissions within eight months and require FDA review new submissions within an 11-month timeframe, which is included in the House-passed bill.

71 Doctor Groups Urge CMS To Delay Pay Code Changes By One Year

71 Doctor Groups Urge CMS To Delay Pay Code Changes By One Year-insidehealthpolicy:  CMS should push back by one year its proposed schedule for changing Medicare pay codes for physician services, 71 medical societies tell CMS, and they have a proposal to align the schedules of AMA's CPT Editorial Panel and the its Specialty Society Relative Vale Scale Update Committee (RUC). The letter was spearheaded by the American Medical Association, but it includes physician groups such as the American Academy of Family Physicians that have opposed the RUC for favoring specialists over primary care doctors.

Target Women’s Clinics, Keep Recruitment Open To Get More Women Into Trials, FDA Says In Guidance

Target Women’s Clinics, Keep Recruitment Open To Get More Women Into Trials, FDA Says In Guidance-thegraysheet: To get more women to participate in device clinical trials, companies should target women’s clinics for recruitment opportunities and plan focused efforts to enroll females under a continued access study. Those are two of multiple strategies FDA recommends in a final guidance (PDF) on parsing sex-specific clinical data. Adequate and appropriate populations of women are needed in clinical trials to support 510(k) clearances and PMAs, the agency notes.