 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Congress sets sights on lowering health costs |
Lawmakers look to harness enthusiasm for bringing down drug prices and turn it into bipartisan legislation. |
© The Hill, Annabelle Gordon |
Democrats scored a key victory over the pharmaceutical industry last year when the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, which gave Medicare the ability to negotiate some drug prices.
Many Democrats are looking to build on that effort and expand the focus to other parts of the drug supply chain, this time through bipartisan reforms.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) is aiming to bring a health package to floor sometime in the next few months, though the timing and the specifics of what it could include is in flux due to the looming debt limit negotiations. Deep partisan divides may complicate those efforts, but both parties and chambers seem to have common ground with legislation aimed at reforming the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry.
Lawmakers have yet to decide how, and even if, they will address insulin prices in the commercial market.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday will mark up bills on increasing competition for generic drugs, increasing access to medicine for rare diseases, and a bill aimed at PBM business practices.
Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has not said which of the dueling Senate insulin bills he supports, and none were included in the markup.
"The HELP committee is going to be extremely aggressive on doing everything we can to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and we're going to deal with that in a number of ways. This is a good start," Sanders told The Hill when asked about the markup. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a woman with life-threatening pregnancy complications are under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services for violating federal law. |
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The Biden administration will end its COVID-19 vaccine requirements for international travelers and various workplaces next week, the White House announced Monday, a move that will coincide with the end of the public health emergency related to the coronavirus. The decision to wind down the requirements comes roughly two years after the administration first announced the mandates for international travelers and federal employees … |
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| Close to a third of LGBTQ youth say laws and policies that target LGBTQ people have had a substantial and negative impact on their mental health over the past year, according to an annual report published Monday by The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ youth suicide prevention group. Nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health is poor either "most of the time" or "always" because of policies and legislation that … |
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An artificial intelligence chatbot was able to outperform human doctors in responding to patient questions posted online, according to evaluators in a new study. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine found that a chatbot's responses to patient questions, pulled from a social media platform, were rated "significantly higher for both quality and empathy." Researchers from … |
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Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
- The Senate HELP Committee on Tuesday marks up bipartisan bills on health costs and PBMs
- The Senate Finance Committee will hold a Wednesday hearing on barriers to mental health care
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Expanding Access to Alzheimer's Care & Treatment, May 11, 2-4 p.m. ET About 1 in 9 Americans over 65 suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, treatment options are still limited. Why is CMS declining coverage, and where are we in terms of new treatments on the horizon? The Hill brings together Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.); Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.); along with researchers, doctors, caregivers and patients to explore the latest treatments and roadblocks and discuss what more needs to be done. |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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'Not going to be 80': Michael J. Fox says Parkinson's disease is getting tougher |
"[Parkinson's] banging on the door … I'm not going to lie, it's getting hard. It's getting harder. It's getting tougher," he said. |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Hoping for a root canal: 5 million New Yorkers get more dental coverage (The New York Times)
- Thousands of Floridians could be losing health insurance starting Monday. Here's what to know. (Palm Beach Post)
- Lee signs narrow abortion exception bill into law (The Tennessean)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Masks come off in the last refuge for mandates: The doctor's office (The Washington Post)
- Some private companies charge hefty fees to help veterans with disability claims (KFF Health News)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson is seen on newly revealed video bashing the network’s streaming service, which he produced a bevy of content … Read more |
| The Supreme Court on Monday announced it will hear a case that could significantly scale back federal agencies' authority, with major implications … Read more |
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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