House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent the House of Representatives home for the holidays last week following the chamber’s passage of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2670) by a vote of 310-118. The $886 billion defense policy bill was passed over the objection of 73 hardline conservative members of his caucus, who rejected the package negotiated with Democrats, which preserves the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. The House is scheduled to reconvene on January 9, 10 days before Congress’ first government funding deadline. The Senate has delayed its holiday recess to continue negotiations on aid for Ukraine. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has stated that the chamber will vote on aid this week whether or not a deal has been reached.
House Passes Health Transparency Bill, SUPPORT Act Reauthorization
The House of Representatives passed the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (H.R. 5378) in a bipartisan 320-71 vote last week. The package is focused on increasing transparency in the hospital, insurer, and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industries. It includes many provisions previously advanced by the Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce committees, drawing much from the PATIENT Act, to provide patients with timelier and more accurate information about the cost of health care procedures and services. It also increases funding for community health centers and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the package would cut $715 million from the deficit over the next decade. The bill’s fate in the Senate remains unclear. The Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee have each advanced their own PBM- related measures out of committee this year.
The House also passed the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4531) last week in a 386-37 vote. The package would reauthorize the 2018 law’s substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services, prevention programming, and long-term recovery services through fiscal year 2028. The programs expired at the end of September. The Senate HELP Committee advanced its own version of the reauthorization bill (S. 644, as amended) out of committee last week in a 19-1 vote.
Democrats Probe Pharmacies Protection of Patient Privacy
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding federal health privacy regulations. The lawmakers detail the findings of an oversight inquiry into the privacy practices of pharmacies related to law enforcement demands for patient records which found that none of the eight major pharmacy chains surveyed require a warrant prior to sharing pharmacy records with law enforcement agents. The letter urges HHS to consider further strengthening its HIPAA regulations “to more closely align them with Americans’ reasonable expectations of privacy and Constitutional principles.”
Carter, Barragan Lead Comments on Co-pay Assistance Lawsuit
Abipartisan group of 48 members of Congress are urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to drop its appeal of a court decision that struck down a regulation allowing insurers to avoid counting manufacturer co- pay assistance toward patients’ maximum out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. Patient advocate groups, who brought the lawsuit against the department, argued that the rule contradicts the statutory definition of cost sharing and would result in increased costs for patients. The letter, led by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), expresses support for the court decision as “an important step in the right direction for patients who rely on manufacturer copay assistance to alleviate affordability and access challenges for their medicines.”
E&C GOP Demands Answers on FDA Foreign Drug Inspection Program
Republican leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are threatening to subpoena Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leadership if they do not cooperate with an investigation into the agency’s inspection of foreign drug facilities. The lawmakers reiterate their concerns, originally shared in a July letter to the agency, about the quality of drugs produced in India and China and the impact of subsequent drug shortages on patients. “The U.S. cannot afford additional disruptions to the drug supply chain that reduce the availability of essential medications and force doctors and patients to make difficult treatment decisions,” the letter argues. Lawmakers are prepared to issue a subpoena by January 5 should the FDA fail to provide the requested documentation.
GAO Details Challenges of NSA Implementation
The Government Accountability Office released a new report last week on the implementation of the No Surprises Act (NSA). The report reviews the more than 490,000 payment disputes initiated between providers and insurers from April 2022 through June 2023, which is nearly 20 times more than regulators’ expectation. While 61% of these disputes remain unresolved, providers have prevailed in 77% of disputes in which a payment determination has been reached. The report attributes the large number of unresolved disputes to the complexity of determining whether disputes are eligible for the independent dispute resolution process.
Missouri Implements First PDMP
On December 13th, Missouri launched a statewide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) to help pharmacists, doctors, and other health professionals reduce abuse and misuse of Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances in the state. The Missouri legislature approved the establishment of a statewide PDMP in 2021. For years, Missouri was the only state without a statewide PDMP; instead, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health operated a PDMP that served 75 jurisdictions within the state. The St. Louis PDMP plans to cease operations as a result of the new statewide program.
Congressional Retirements and Resignations
A running list of members of Congress who are retiring or seeking other office can be found below.
Recently Introduced Health Legislation
S.3458 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to clarify the application of the in-office ancillary services exception to the physician self-referral prohibition for drugs furnished under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Sinema, Kyrsten [Sen.-I-AZ]; Committees: Senate – Finance
S.3462 – A bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue draft guidance to address non-addictive analgesics for chronic pain; Sponsor: Marshall, Roger [Sen.-R-KS]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R.6693 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the coverage of additional lung cancer screening tests under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Buchanan, Vern [Rep.-R-FL-16]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means
H.R.6705 – To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to treat certain tests for tuberculosis as breakthrough devices eligible for expedited development and priority review, to require certain establishments that perform donor screening or testing to screen or test for active and latent tuberculosis, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Moolenaar, John R. [Rep.-R-MI-2]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6716 – To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a special enrollment period for pregnant women, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Watson Coleman, Bonnie [Rep.-D-NJ-12]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Education and the Workforce; Oversight and Accountability
S.3464 – A bill to support endemic fungal disease research, incentivize fungal vaccine development, discover new antifungal therapies and diagnostics, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Kelly, Mark [Sen.-D-AZ]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R.6731 – To support endemic fungal disease research, incentivize fungal vaccine development, discover new antifungal therapies and diagnostics, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Schweikert, David [Rep.-R-AZ-1]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6732 – To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to clarify parameters for model testing and add accountability to model expansion under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Smith, Adrian [Rep.-R-NE-3]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means; Rules
S.Res.496 – A resolution designating September 2023 as “National Cholesterol Education Month” and September 30, 2023, as LDL-C Awareness Day; Sponsor: Hyde-Smith, Cindy [Sen.-R-MS]; Committees: Senate – Judiciary
S.3481 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand and expedite access to cardiac rehabilitation programs and pulmonary rehabilitation programs under the Medicare program, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Capito, Shelley Moore [Sen.-R-WV]; Committees: Senate – Finance
S.3482 – A bill to establish a multi-stakeholder advisory committee tasked with providing detailed recommendations to address challenges to transmitting geolocation information with calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Barrasso, John [Sen.-R-WY]; Committees: Senate – Commerce, Science, and Transportation
S.3490 – A bill to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from providing health care to, or engaging in claims processing for health care for, any individual unlawfully present in the United States who is not eligible for health care under the laws administered by the Secretary; Sponsor: Tuberville, Tommy [Sen.-R-AL]; Committees: Senate – Veterans’ Affairs
S.3498 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of peer support services under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Cortez Masto, Catherine [Sen.-D-NV]; Committees: Senate – Finance
S.3501 – A bill to provide greater support for grandfamilies and older caregiver relatives; Sponsor: Casey, Robert P., Jr. [Sen.-D-PA]; Committees: Senate – Finance
S.3503 – A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise certain regulations in relation to the Medicare shared savings program and other alternative payment arrangements to encourage participation in such program, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Whitehouse, Sheldon [Sen.-D-RI]; Committees: Senate – Finance
S.3509 – A bill to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a special enrollment period for pregnant persons, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Brown, Sherrod [Sen.-D-OH]; Committees: Senate – Finance
H.R.6742 – To establish a pilot program to provide an add-on payment to certain plans offering benefits designed to address the needs of dual-eligible individuals related to social determinants of health, and to provide administrative flexibility to improve integration for certain dual-eligible individuals; Sponsor: Blumenauer, Earl [Rep.-D-OR-3]; Committees: House – Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
H.R.6743 -To amend the Public Health Service Act to include public awareness about menopause and related chronic conditions, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Blunt Rochester, Lisa [Rep.-D-DE-At Large]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6744 – To prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from providing health care to, or engaging in claims processing for health care for, any individual unlawfully present in the United States who is not eligible for health care under the laws administered by the Secretary; Sponsor: Bost, Mike [Rep.-R-IL-12]; Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs
H.R.6746 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a public awareness campaign with respect to iron deficiency; Sponsor: Caraveo, Yadira [Rep.-D-CO-8]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6748 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of peer support services under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Chu, Judy [Rep.-D-CA-28]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means
H.R.6749 – To require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the results and status of completed and ongoing research related to menopause, perimenopause, or mid-life women’s health, to conduct and support additional such research, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Clarke, Yvette D. [Rep.-D-NY-9]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6763 – To establish a multi-stakeholder advisory committee tasked with providing detailed recommendations to address challenges to transmitting geolocation information with calls to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Molinaro, Marcus J. [Rep.-R-NY-19]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6764 – To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to modify the HIPAA privacy regulation with respect to the disclosure of certain protected health information; Sponsor: Neguse, Joe [Rep.-D-CO-2]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6768 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out activities to establish, expand, and sustain a public health nursing workforce, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Stansbury, Melanie Ann [Rep.-D-NM-1]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
S.Res.507 – A resolution designating September 25, 2023, as “National Ataxia Awareness Day”, and raising awareness of ataxia, ataxia research, and the search for a cure; Sponsor: Hyde-Smith, Cindy [Sen.-R-MS]; Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
S.Res.510 – A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the scientific judgement of the Food and Drug Administration that mifepristone is safe and effective should be respected, and law and policy governing access to lifesaving, time-sensitive medication abortion care in the United States should be equitable and based on science; Sponsor: Warren, Elizabeth [Sen.-D-MA]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3519 – A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Manchin, Joe, III [Sen.-D-WV]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3525 – A bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to maintain a peer-to-peer support line to provide emotional support, information, brief intervention, and mental health resources to youth who are experiencing stress or who are at risk of, or affected by, mental health disorders, and to establish a grant program for local educational agencies to employ school-based mental health coordinators; Sponsor: Casey, Robert P., Jr. [Sen.-D-PA]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3532 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a Task Force on Youth Mental Health Data Integration; Sponsor: Casey, Robert P., Jr. [Sen.-D-PA]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3545 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to public health data accessibility, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Kaine, Tim [Sen.-D-VA]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3546 – A bill to require a study on the quality of care difference between mental health and addiction therapy care provided by health care providers of the Department of Veterans Affairs compared to non-Department providers, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Cornyn, John [Sen.-R-TX]; Committees: Senate – Veterans’ Affairs
S.3548 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for hospital and insurer price transparency; Sponsor: Braun, Mike [Sen.-R-IN]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3550 – A bill to clarify training requirements for prescribers of controlled substances; Sponsor: Bennet, Michael F. [Sen.- D-CO]; Committees: Senate – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
S.3552 – A bill to amend the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 to allow qualified tax-exempt organizations to claim the employee retention credit for employers affected by qualified disasters against Medicare hospital insurance taxes; Sponsor: Kennedy, John [Sen.-R-LA]; Committees: Senate – Finance
H.Res.937 – Raising awareness for the sarcoma cancer chordoma; Sponsor: Johnson, Henry C. “Hank,” Jr. [Rep.-D-GA-4]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6780 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Demonstration Program to test a payment and service delivery model under part A of Medicare to improve clinical health outcomes and reduce the rate of readmissions of certain individuals; Sponsor: McGovern, James P. [Rep.-D-MA-2]; Committees: House – Ways and Means
H.R.6790 – To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to preventing end-stage kidney disease, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Bilirakis, Gus M. [Rep.-R-FL-12]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means
H.R.6791 – To amend the Digital Equity Act of 2021 to facilitate artificial intelligence literacy opportunities, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Blunt Rochester, Lisa [Rep.-D-DE-At Large]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6794 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend the Medicare independence at home medical practice demonstration program; Sponsor: Burgess, Michael C. [Rep.-R-TX-26]; Committees: House – Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
H.R.6800 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to codify the requirements for appointment, qualifications, and pay for therapeutic medical physicists of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Cherfilus- McCormick, Sheila [Rep.-D-FL-20]; Committees: House – Veterans’ Affairs
H.R.6801 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that remote physiologic monitoring services are not subject to cost sharing under the Medicare program; Sponsor: Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [Rep.-D-FL-20]; Committees: House – Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
H.R.6802 – To improve supply chain resiliency for critical drug products with vulnerable supply chains and ensure that reserves of critical drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients are maintained to prevent supply disruptions in the event of drug shortages or public health emergencies; Sponsor: Craig, Angie [Rep.-D-MN-2]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6803 – To provide greater support for grandfamilies and older caregiver relatives; Sponsor: Davis, Danny K. [Rep.-D- IL-7]; Committees: House – Ways and Means; Education and the Workforce; Energy and Commerce; Financial Services
H.R.6804 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and suicide prevention services in primary care offices, and for other purposes; Sponsor: DeSaulnier, Mark [Rep.-D-CA-10]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6807 – To increase funding for cancer research by the National Cancer Institute to be more in proportion to the mortality rates of cancer; Sponsor: Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [Rep.-R-PA-1]; Committees: House – Appropriations; Energy and Commerce
H.R.6815 – To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to revise its regulations to protect patients from unintended exposure to radiation during nuclear medicine procedures, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Griffith, H. Morgan [Rep.-R- VA-9]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6829 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize and support the creation and dissemination of cardiomyopathy education, awareness, and risk assessment materials and resources to identify more at-risk families, to authorize research and surveillance activities relating to cardiomyopathy, and for other purposes; Sponsor: Pallone, Frank, Jr. [Rep.-D-NJ-6]; Committees: House – Energy and Commerce
H.R.6835 – To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to establish a grant program for multigenerational activities for long-term care facilities; Sponsor: Strickland, Marilyn [Rep.-D-WA-10]; Committees: House – Education and the Workforce