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Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Are Coming
Mid-September, Officials Say
COVID-19 vaccines that have
been tweaked to teach the body how to fend off the current crop of
circulating variants are now expected to land in drugstores and
clinics in mid-September, Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials stated.
The CDC and FDA officials also spoke about the US
government’s preparations for the fall and winter respiratory virus
season on the condition that they not be named. Continue reading
TMA Wins Fourth Lawsuit Challenging Payment
Calculations in Surprise Billing Arbitration
Marking a fourth victory for
the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in as many lawsuits, a court
struck down a large portion of the regulations setting forth a methodology insurers use to calculate the
Qualifying Payment Amount, or QPA, used in surprise-billing disputes
– part of a series of federal rules TMA has long argued skew the
arbitration process in insurers’ favor. This latest lawsuit was
the third in a series TMA filed challenging regulators'
implementation of the arbitration process under the federal law. Read more
Health Alert: Confirmed Case of Measles
Two cases of measles have been
confirmed in Texas this year. The first case was
diagnosed in June and more recently a second child was diagnosed. The
cases were residents of Hood County and McCulloch County,
respectively. Both cases were confirmed by reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR). No risk
factors for disease or exposure have been identified. Read more
New Texas Law Increases Hospital Notice Before
Removing Patients From Life Support From 10 To 25 Days
In Texas, hospitals can
withdraw life support from their patients 10 days after they notify
the patient’s family. Under the contentious Texas Advance Directives
Act, life support can be removed when the hospital determines current
care as “futile.” Beginning in September, House Bill 3162
will increase how much notice hospitals have to give patients’
families from 10 days to 25 days. Read more
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