Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) announced today that the Health Subcommittee will hold a markup on Wednesday, March 11, at 10 am in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
“The Health Subcommittee is continuing its work to strengthen and improve health care for the American people," Pallone and Eshoo said. “On Wednesday, we will mark up 13 legislative proposals to improve health outcomes for kids, strengthen benefits and coverage for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and support the Food and Drug Administration’s important work overseeing food, drug, medical device and cosmetic safety."
The Health Subcommittee will consider:
H.R. 5279, the "Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act of 2019," introduced by Pallone. The legislation would modernize the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulatory authority over cosmetic and personal care products, including giving FDA authority to issue mandatory recalls for unsafe products, requiring manufacturers to notify the agency about adverse events, compelling manufacturers to register their cosmetic ingredients and providing FDA with stable funding to conduct this new and important work.
H.R. 5668, the "Making Objective Drug Evidence Revisions for New Labeling Act of 2020" or the "MODERN Labeling Act of 2020," introduced by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA). The legislation gives authority to FDA to require modifications of outdated labeling for certain generic drugs and requires that FDA report any actions taken under the bill’s auspices to update labeling for covered drugs.
H.R. 5663, the "Safeguarding Therapeutics Act," introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY). The legislation would extend FDA’s administrative destruction authority to include medical devices. This would allow FDA to destroy certain imported medical devices in instances where FDA believes such medical devices are adulterated, misbranded, or unapproved and may pose a threat to the public health as they do currently for drugs.
H.R. 4866, the "National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Act of 2019," introduced by Pallone. The legislation would direct FDA to designate National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, which would work with FDA and industry to craft a national framework for continuous manufacturing implementation.
H.R. 4712, the "Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act," introduced by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA). The legislation would update the Orphan Drug Act to require drug manufacturers seeking orphan drug designations to demonstrate the absence of any reasonable expectation of recovering the costs they incur in developing and making those drugs available in the United States for such disease or condition.
H.R. 2117, the "Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act of 2019" or the "FASTER Act of 2019," introduced by Matsui. The legislation would add sesame as a major food allergen, update allergen labeling laws, increase research, expand patient experience data to include food allergies and study the economic costs of food allergies.
H.R. 2468, the “School-Based Allergies and Asthma Management Program Act," introduced by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). The legislation would add a preference for school-based allergy and asthma grants to states that utilize certain health care professionals and programs.
H.R. 2271, the “Scarlett’s Sunshine on Sudden Unexpected Death Act," introduced by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI). The legislation would strengthen existing efforts to better understand Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and Sudden Unexplained Death in Children, streamline data collection and analysis to improve prevention efforts and support children and families.
H.R. 4801, the “Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2019," introduced by Rep Tim Ryan (D-OH). The legislation would reauthorize the Healthy Start Program at $135 million per year for five years, an increase of $15 million per year above the last authorized level and makes other technical changes intended to reduce infant mortality and improve perinatal outcomes.
H.R. 1379, the “Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act," introduced by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN). The legislation would require all individual and group market health plans to cover medically necessary treatment resulting from congenital abnormalities or birth defects.
H.R. 2477, the “Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019" or the “BENES Act of 2019," introduced by Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA). The legislation would improve beneficiary outreach and education, reduce gaps in coverage and simplify the Part B enrollment process.
H.R. 5534, the “Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act," introduced by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI). The legislation would permanently remove the 36-month limit for Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs post-kidney transplant.
H.R. 3935, the “Protecting Patients Transportation to Care Act," introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA). The legislation would amend the statute to include transportation, non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), in the list of mandatory Medicaid benefits by codifying current Medicaid transportation regulations. The bill would also require state Medicaid programs to have in place a prior authorization or utilization management process for NEMT.
Information for this markup, including the Committee Memorandum, electronic copies of the legislation and any amendments, and a link to the live webcast will be posted HERE as they become available.
