Congress

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants FDA to expedite the review of the 12 sunscreen ingredients that the agency recently determined, via a proposed rule in February, did not have sufficient evidence to be deemed safe and effective.

Lobbyists for brand drug makers have told Senate Finance Committee staff they’re open to paying a share of seniors’ catastrophic Medicare Part D drug costs in exchange for capping seniors’ out-of-pocket costs and relieving drug makers of the 70% discounts they currently must pay for drugs that beneficiaries take while in the donut hole, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) plans to work on a rural health package and changes to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital payments formula separately, according to the lawmaker’s office, though earlier this year he had discussed the possibility of putting the two together.

Members of the House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee agreed that extending funding for community health centers, the National Health Services Corps, and the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program for more than two years is a priority, but some House Republicans at a hearing on Tuesday (June 4) expressed concern about paying for the programs.

A bipartisan bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s ban on new physician-owned hospitals was unveiled Tuesday (June 4) by House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee ranking Republican Michael Burgess (TX) and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX).

The House Ways & Means Committee will hold a hearing on Medicare for All and other coverage expansion options on June 12, making it the first health care committee of jurisdiction to hold a hearing on the progressive health policy priority and the third time a House committee has examined single player in the past month.

Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said Wednesday (June 5) that he wants drug makers to take on a share of costs in the catastrophic phase of Medicare Part D, and health insurance plans to also pay more.

House Ways & Means Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) on Tuesday (June 4) said Congress should be anxious about the fate of rural hospitals, after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raised concerns with rural hospitals and their closures.

The Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the Senate’s options to curb surprise medical bills found the health committee’s proposal to set a benchmark payment rate would save the most money at $25 billion in health savings to the federal government over 10 years, sources familiar with the preliminary scores told Inside Health Policy.