- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
House Approves 21st Century Cures Act; Senate Still Working on Its Version
By an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Cures Act, which stands advance big data and precision medicine and strengthen the National Institutes of Health and FDA.
By an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Cures Act by a vote of 344-77. The bipartisan healthcare legislation was introduced by Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), full committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ), and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX).
More than 700 groups have expressed their support for the bill, which originated from the Energy and Commerce Committee’s 21st Century Cures initiative, launched more than 1 year ago by Upton and DeGette. The groups encompass patient advocacy, rare disease groups, cancer centers, technology groups, universities, biopharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and more.
“Today, we took a big leap on the path to cures, but we still have much work left to do,” the bill’s authors said in a statement. “The 344 votes today should be a springboard for action. On to the Senate.”
The Senate is currently working on its own bill that likely won’t go up for a vote until the fall, but no later than December, according to The Hill.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) applauded the passage of the legislation. The bill advances big data and precision medicine, which have the potential to improve cancer treatment, strengthens the National Institutes of Health, and includes reforms to speed up FDA review process.
"The U.S. House of Representatives has passed monumental legislation that will accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments to people living with cancer,” ASCO President Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, said in a statement.
The National MS Society also lauded the passage of the bill, which the society believes will help better gather data on people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) to better investigate new treatments.
Cyndi Zagieboylo
"The passage of the 21st Century Cures Act would bring us one step closer to resolving the mystery of MS," , president and chief executive officer of the National MS Society, said in a statement. "By dedicating additional resources and creating new systems, the medical community will be better poised to make new discoveries to help people with MS live their best lives."
Public Hospitals More Likely to Extend Unprofitable Services After 340B Participation, Study Finds
May 10th 2024Public hospitals were significantly more likely to sustain access to unprofitable services following 340B Drug Pricing Program participation, while nonprofit hospitals were mostly unaffected, according to a recent study.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Persistence Pays Off With Zanubrutinib: A Challenging CLL Case With a Prior BTK Inhibitor Failure
May 10th 2024The case of a 77-year-old woman with a long chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) history illustrates the novel use of zanubrutinib as a potential option for some patients who have failed first-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors and venetoclax.
Read More
CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
Listen
