Experts expressed concern that an emphasis on overprescribing, specifically, is somewhat unbalanced given the population of people who lack access to care for serious mental health conditions.

Advocates for health care providers that treat low-income and uninsured patients are pressuring state lawmakers to pass legislation they say would prevent drug manufacturers from restricting access to medications that are discounted through a federal pharmacy program.

Since the 1990s, the FDA has collected fees from drug companies to help pay for extra staffers to quickly review new prescription drugs and vaccines. Under the agreement with the industry, the FDA has timelines and metrics for completing each review.

Citing high prescription drug prices, lawmakers and activists are reviving a dormant push to create an Illinois prescription drug affordability board.

The two-study standard for drugs dates to the early 1960s, when Congress passed a law requiring the FDA to review data from “adequate and well-controlled investigations” before clearing new medications.

Former agency officials worry the meetings are skirting federal rules on conflicts of interests and transparency, while promoting fringe viewpoints that align with those of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A pharmacy benefit manager negotiates prices with wholesalers, sets reimbursement rates on drugs and compiles the lists of which medicines an insurer will cover. But critics describe the industry as focused on self-enrichment and in need of regulation.

The proposed board would be an independent body that would review and set upper payment limits in each step of the supply chain, said Anusha Thotakura, the executive director of Citizen Action/Illinois, a progressive lobbying organization.

The price negotiations for the additional 15 drugs selected will be handled by the incoming Trump administration and, if deals are reached, almost assure billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent more than 15 years crafting the guidelines, which are designed to do away with industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information.

Three companies that process about 80% of prescriptions in the United States — Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx — have engaged in anticompetitive practices that spur price increases, the FTC is alleging in a new lawsuit.

There is an ongoing shortage of several prescription drugs used to treat ADHD, including Adderall. The CDC urged people to avoid using medication acquired from anyone other than a licensed clinician and pharmacy.

Do you have old prescription medicines in your cabinet? Don’t flush them down the toilet or throw them in the trash. Instead, dispose of them Saturday, no questions asked, at DEA-sponsored sites. 

Clean out your medicine cabinet and safely dispose of unused prescriptions during a biannual event that’s collected more than 9 million pounds of pills since its 2010 launch.

Each year 60 million Americans experience heartburn. A nonprofit now hopes stronger labeling on over-the-counter medicines for heartburn will increase awareness of its association with esophageal cancer.

Do you have old prescription medicines in your cabinet? Safely dispose of them at drop-off sites set up by the DEA for Saturday’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.