Women, minority groups concerned over 'comparative effectiveness'

Women and minorities are up in arms over how some of the money in the recently signed economic stimulus package will be used. According to the Kaiser Network, and first reported by The New York Times, $1.1 billion will be set aside to compare the effectiveness of various treatments on the same disease. The money would be made available through the Department of Health and Human Services, and could be spent over a time period of several years. 

The problem, according to some women and minority groups, is that both parties aren't necessarily always fairly represented during clinical trials of certain treatments. Because different treatments affect different people in different ways, the groups are arguing that results for their constituents have a greater likelihood of being overlooked. 

According to The Times, congressional lawmakers have tried to add language ensuring that women and minorities would be fairly represented in all research financed by the federal government. 

For more:
- read this article from KaiserNetwork.org

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