What We're Reading: Latest EO Impacts FDA, Vaccine Advocates, and Short-Term Insurance

Trump’s Latest Executive Order Will Impact the FDA

In his first week in office, President Donald Trump has signed 7 executive orders, and the most recent order requires that agencies eliminate 2 regulations for each new one created. According to the Regulatory Affairs and Professionals Society, this “1 in, 2 out” plan is expected to impact the heavily regulated FDA, but the exact extent is still unknown. The order seems to apply to guidance documents, as well as regulations, which may cause confusion among medical device and pharmaceutical companies.

Vaccine Advocates Mobilize

With increasing threats to public health from vaccine skeptics, proponents of vaccinations are stepping up to advocate for the benefit that vaccines have for public health. Advocates see the biggest threat coming from the president himself, who has expressed doubts about the safety of vaccines, has met with antivaccine advocates, and has shown interest in having Robert F. Kennedy Jr (an outspoken vaccine critic) chair a commission on vaccine safety, reported STAT. An advocacy group for vaccines has seen an increase in membership, and advocates have the support of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

Short-Term Health Insurance May Increase With ACA Repeal

While short-term health insurance plans have been around for decades, their popularity is expected to increase as Republicans work to weaken and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to Kaiser Health News. Short-term plans include a lot of practices that were prohibited in qualified health plans under the ACA, but as a result, they had much cheaper premiums. From 2013 to 2015, the number of people enrolled in short-term plans increased 36%.