Are Children Adequately Protected In Biomedical Research Trials?
August 12, 1998 Congress is seriously considering doubling the national budget for biomedical research trials. Parents should pay close attention, because the expansion of research trials, combined with the new FDA Modernization Act of 1997 and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), could mean that more children will be enrolled in government drug studies. The FDA Modernization Act of 1997 calls for pharmaceutical companies to increase testing of pharmaceutical drugs in children. SCHIP, also enacted last year, creates a new government program under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), giving states some $48 billion federal dollars to expand their Medicaid programs (including school-based health centers) or to create new state health programs. We’ve already seen significant increases in psychological testing and Ritalin prescriptions as a result of Medicaid expansions into school-based health centers.
