The US Senate has approved health care legislation designed to augment funding for disease research, close gaps in the mental health system and overhaul the regulatory system for drugs and medical devices. The 21st Centure Cures Act will battle the opioid epidemic and give health institutes the ability to finance high-risk but high-reward research to take larger steps towards cures and treatments for serious illnesses. A new secretary for mental health and substance abuse will be appointed, and direct agencies to give equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses. In a speech at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday, President Barack Obama said that he would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk. However, no provision was made for the skyrocketing price of drugs from pharmaceutical companies, and there has been no guarantee made that the $4.8bn granted to the National Institutes of Health will be paid.
The US Senate has approved health care legislation designed to augment funding for disease research, close gaps in the mental health system and overhaul the regulatory system for drugs and medical devices. The 21st Centure Cures Act will battle the opioid epidemic and give health institutes the ability to finance high-risk but high-reward research to take larger steps towards cures and treatments for serious illnesses. A new secretary for mental health and substance abuse will be appointed, and direct agencies to give equal coverage for mental and physical illnesses. The Food and Drug Administration will be able to shorten the length of time for approval for new drugs or new uses for medication, expediting potential cures and life-saving treatments. However, no provision was made for the skyrocketing price of drugs from pharmaceutical companies, and there has been no guarantee made that the $4.8bn granted to the National Institutes of Health will be paid.