Senate passes clinical trials access bill

The U.S. Senate passed the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2015 (S. 139), which would permanently allow people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid benefits to participate in rare disease clinical trials without jeopardizing their eligibility for those benefits.

A law that went into effect in 2010 excluded compensation for participating in a rare disease trial from a person's income for the purpose of determining eligibility for SSI and Medicaid. The provision was to sunset this year. The Senate bill would strike the sunset clause, making the change permanent. ...