A group of Kansas politicians in charge of advancing public health policy are pushing for the allowance of off-label medications to treat COVID-19.
That includes widely censored ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
Some Republican senators want to shield doctors from legal liability and board discipline from prescribing such drugs.
Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Galena, and chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee requested the introduction of Senate Bill 381.
The proposed legislation would require pharmacists to fill the off-label prescriptions, even if they believe the drugs would be dangerous for patients.
Kansas bill would force pharmacists to fill ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine as off-label COVID treatment https://t.co/yXuKYby4Je via @YahooNews
— Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (@AAPSonline) January 26, 2022
Kansas senators who oversee public health policy debate a bill that would promote off-label drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID.
— USA TODAY Politics (@usatodayDC) January 26, 2022
Yahoo News explained:
But that hasn’t stopped the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee from advancing a bill making it easier for doctors to prescribe the drugs for off-label use. The bill would also require pharmacists to fill such prescriptions, even if they believe the drugs would be dangerous for patients.
“This is just sort of messy,” said Steve Stites, the chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, when asked about the proposal during a Monday media briefing. “This is politics, unfortunately, and not health care. And when politics gets involved in health care, it kind of gets a little messy.”
Doctors on the regular KU briefings have long opposed using ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. In the past, infectious disease specialist Dana Hawkinson has advised people to find a new doctor if their current physician promotes ivermectin over vaccines.
“If the drug is FDA authorized, as a physician, the drug is authorized. And you can try and use it for other conditions,” Stites said. “That’s what’s called off label use. Insurance companies are under no obligation to pay for the off-label use.
“The problem is that you are responsible for the outcome of that drug, and if it gives that patient a bad outcome, they can come back to you to say, hey, you had a bad outcome, I’m going to sue you, or you can get turned into the state board.”
The Kansas proposal would remove that liability for off-label drugs for COVID-19.
“What the Kansas legislation is trying to say is, well look, if you want to use ivermectin for COVID, even though that’s off label use — and let’s be honest, even though the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence says that it doesn’t work and may even be harmful to you because again, this is really a drug meant for parasites,” Stites said.
“What happens is that the Kansas legislators are now saying you can’t be held responsible for any bad outcome. And I think, you know, it’s really bizarre to me, that politicians … want to move into the area of medicine. Essentially, the Kansas Legislature wants to practice medicine for one drug — one drug, you can give this drug and not get sued.”
While off-label drug prescription shouldn’t be a controversial topic, Big Pharma profits spurred a disgusting censorship campaign against HCQ and ivermectin.
The proposed legislation prevents physicians and pharmacists from denying medication for COVID treatment.
As USA Today noted:
Jenna Moyer, an assistant revisor of statutes, said the bill “would take away the discretion that pharmacists typically have (under state law) not to fill a prescription if it’s in their judgment or discretion that it should not be filled.”
Physicians and pharmacists would also not be subject to any disciplinary action for any “recommendation, prescription, use or opinion …. related to a treatment for COVID-19, including a treatment that is not recommended or regulated by the licensing board,” KDHE or FDA. Such actions could not be considered unprofessional conduct. The provision would be retroactive to March 12, 2020.
The licensing board would be required to rescind any such disciplinary action.
The Board of Healing Arts has taken disciplinary action against one provider — a Lawrence chiropractor who falsely advertised coronavirus-related services.
Sen. Mark Steffen, R-Hutchinson and an anesthesiologist, has promoted ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
“Twenty percent of all prescriptions are FDA-approved drugs for off-label uses, so this is anything but unique,” he said.
While the cited mainstream sources fill their stories with the typical falsehoods of HCQ and ivermectin, the real science points to their beneficial use for early COVID treatment.
Dr. Pierre Kory elaborated at Senator Ron Johnson’s COVID-19 ‘Second Opinion’ Panel:
Dr. Pierre Kory goes through numerous examples from around the world where early treatment is working, including a massive new study out of Brazil
There have been “repeated policies placing pharmaceutical industry interests ahead of the welfare of US Citizens”@PierreKory pic.twitter.com/QsZs3GJoNP
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 24, 2022
Kory cited this massive Brazilian study of ivermectin that utilized over 220,000 patients.
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