WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Subcommittee on Health Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives today passed several health care bills, including H.R. 6378, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018, authored by committee members Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). The House also passed S. 2553, the Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018, and S. 2554, the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, which would lower drug costs for patients through increased transparency.
“Today the House took bipartisan action to lower drug costs for patients and improve our national readiness to prevent or respond to a pandemic event or bioterrorism attack," said Chairman Walden and #SubHealth Chairman Burgess. “We commend Reps. Susan Brooks and Anna Eshoo for their hard work to update our federal framework for emergency preparedness in the case of a disease outbreak. Time is of the essence in emergency situations, and their bill takes important and potentially life-savings steps in modernizing our readiness and improving information sharing."
Walden and Burgess continued, “Additionally, we offer patients more transparency into the costs of their vital medications and pave the way for pharmacists to freely and responsibly advise their customers on alternative payment methods. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) has been a champion on this issue, with the Energy and Commerce Committee recently passing his companion legislation to the Senate legislation that is now heading to the president’s desk."
Background:
The Energy and Commerce Committee recently passed similar legislation, H.R. 6733 the Know the Cost Act of 2018, authored by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), by voice vote on September 13th. The bill was cospsonsered by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), #SubOversight Vice Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), #SubHealth Chairman Burgess, and #SubHealth Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX).
