Trending News Today: CHIP Funding Bill Stalled in the House

Although a bill to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program easily passed in the Senate, it stalled in the House due to partisan conflicts, The New York Times reported. State officials said they would be forced to notify families whose children would lose coverage if a bill is not passed soon. The bill approved in the Senate would provide more than $100 billion for the program over 5 years, but House Democrats felt the GOP would take money away from Medicare and the Affordable Care Act if the bill was approved, according to The Times.

Significant shortages for drugs that treat cancer, diabetes, and heart disease may occur due to Hurricane Irma-related damage to 80 manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico, according to The New York Times. The island is a major exporter of prescription drugs and medical devices, including adalimumab (Humira) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto). Manufacturing plants are facing issues finding fuel to run generators and with ensuring their employees can get to work when roads are blocked, electricity is down, and phones are not working, according to the article.

Mothers of children with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) are urging lawmakers to implement countrywide screening requirements for the rare brain disorder, which affects boys aged 4 to 10 years, according to Kaiser Health News. When caught early, ALD can be treated, but most children are diagnosed too late for treatment to be effective. California and a handful of other states have implemented newborn screening guidelines to catch the disease early and increase the chance of survival for these patients, according to the article. Advocates are seeking for all states to implement these guidelines.