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Health Policy Updates for the Week of April 8, 2019

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The Headlines

Congress has already begun a two-week recess and will reconvene on April 29. Our office will be hosting Senate and House health staff members next week for our 9th Project Health Education program. Follow us on Twitter for live coverage of the two day event! 

  1. The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Prescription Drug Sunshine, Transparency, Accountability and Reporting Act (H.R. 2113).
  2. Dr. Monte Brown visited Capitol Hill to speak about the Veterans Community Care Program.
  3. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and 14 Democrat colleagues introduced Medicare for All legislation.
  4. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in July about the Affordable Care Act.
  5. The Senate Finance Committee and House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held hearings this week on drug pricing.

The Details

1. House Ways and Means Drug Pricing Bill
On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Prescription Drug Sunshine, Transparency, Accountability and Reporting Act (H.R. 2113). The legislation aims to increase drug pricing transparency by requiring manufacturers to publicly justify price hikes, requiring pharmacy benefit managers to report rebate information from manufacturers, and requiring manufacturers to report free sample value given to health care providers. The bipartisan bill is expected to be modified further before a full House vote.
 
2. Capitol Hill Visits
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has proposed criteria for determining when covered Veterans may elect to receive necessary hospital, medical and extended care services from non-VA entities or providers under the Veterans Community Care Program (MISSION Act of 2018.)   Dr. Monte Brown, Vice President of Administration and Secretary for Duke University Health System and Associate Dean of Veterans Affairs for the Duke University School of Medicine, visited House and Senate offices on Wednesday to update congressional staff on the local impact of the new Veterans Community Care Program that is set to begin on June 6, 2019.
 
3. Medicare for All Legislation
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced Medicare for All legislation on Wednesday with 14 other Democratic colleagues. The Senate bill is in line with the House version (H.R. 1384), which was introduced earlier this year. Senator Sanders also released a document with financing options for the bill. This bill is expected to face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate.
 
4. Affordable Care Act Litigation
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in July about the appeal of the district court decision that struck down the ACA due to the repealed tax penalty enforcing the individual mandate. The law still stands while the ruling is being appealed.
 
5. Committee Hearings
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on drug pricing on Tuesday, focusing on the role of pharmacy benefit managers in negotiating price with drug companies. This is the third hearing in the committee’s series on drug pricing.
 
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held the second hearing in a series on increasing insulin cost. Testifying during the hearing were insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers. The first hearing was focused on the patient impact of the rising drug cost.