The 21st Century Cures Act--allowing drug companies to speed up development of drugs that may not work
Early in December Congress came together in bipartisan support of HR 6, the "20th Century Cures Act." So unusual, these days, for a "landmark bill" to pass into law without major objections by Democrats or Republicans. Perhaps something fishy was going on. Perhaps this was a chance to please special interests while making the average voter feel that, at last, congress was going to accomplish something good. The bill was hailed as supporting the development of new drugs and devices to cure dread diseases by reducing unnecessary regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. I found the text . It is amazingly difficult to read. The legal terminology is nearly impenetrable and the actual content is pretty hard to discern. It is also full of barely related measures, some of them excellent and some of them likely to have nasty consequences. I am particularly wary of the provision that encourages use of digital medical imaging by paying less and less for tests done w...