1.0Public Citizenhttps://www.citizen.orgDiane Krauthamerhttps://www.citizen.org/author/dkrauthamer/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="NSBregisLh"><a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/letter-to-the-secretary-of-health-and-human-services-calling-for-expanded-investigation-into-deadly-meningitis-outbreak/">Letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services Calling for Expanded Investigation Into Deadly Meningitis Outbreak</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.citizen.org/article/letter-to-the-secretary-of-health-and-human-services-calling-for-expanded-investigation-into-deadly-meningitis-outbreak/embed/#?secret=NSBregisLh" width="600" height="338" title="“Letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services Calling for Expanded Investigation Into Deadly Meningitis Outbreak” — Public Citizen" data-secret="NSBregisLh" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius should appoint an independent entity – such as the Office of Inspector General – to investigate whether financial incentives created by drug compounding reimbursement policies of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – combined with inadequate Food and Drug Administration action – fostered the recent outbreak of life-threatening fungal meningitis caused by tainted steroid injections. CMS, through its inconsistent Medicare drug reimbursement policies concerning compounded drugs and decisions allowing routine coverage for such drugs, appears to have created inadvertent financial incentives that helped large-scale production by compounding pharmacies to flourish.https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/public_citizen_shared_link.jpg1200628