WASHINGTON, DC - The Health Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), today held a hearing continuing its record of oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In opening the hearing, #SubHealth Chairman Burgess reinforced the committee’s rich history of working together to advance meaningful health care policies, saying, “What this committee has already accomplished under the previous and current administration is indicative of what is certainly possible - the passage of the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act to repeal the SGR; the enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act; the reauthorization of several key user fees at the FDA last year; and the reauthorization of CHIP, community health centers, and other important public health and Medicare extenders last week. Just on this committee, we were able to include 19 member-led healthcare bills in the recent Bipartisan Budget Act that included both Republican and Democrat priorities."
“Particularly, I see a great opportunity to for us to work together to combat the opioid crisis, a top priority for me and for this committee," said #FullCmte Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). “We need to build upon E&C’s previous legislative efforts, namely the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act (CARA) and the funding provided in the 21st Century Cures Act. While these laws resulted in record amounts of federal resources being devoted to this fight, more is needed to address this growing crisis. In last week’s budget bill, we were able to deliver headroom to provide new resources to combat the opioid crisis for the rest of FY 2018 and FY 2019. We look forward to working with our friends at the Appropriations Committee on this point."
HHS Secretary Azar listens to a member question.
HHS Secretary Azar at multiple times vowed to work with the committee to combat the opioid crisis, testifying, “We recognized that government at the federal, state, and local levels cannot defeat the opioid crisis alone, so HHS will continue to leverage the resources and expertise of the private sector and academia to develop new tools to end the epidemic."
Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) asked HHS Secretary Azar about some of the unintended consequences of the 340B Drug Pricing Program’s growth, as chronicled in a January report, and if they are hampering the success of the program.
HHS Secretary Azar stressed the importance of the committee’s review of the program and highlighted a number of the report’s recommendations. Specifically, HHS Secretary Azar cited better oversight is needed of the program, and that enhanced oversight and regulatory authority of the program was proposed as part of administration’s budget request.
