The House Energy and Commerce Health Care Subcommittee tackled fentanyl and QALYs in the new Congress’ first hearings – and lurking in the background of the conversation was the impact of the debt ceiling on entitlement programs.
Important reasons: The debt ceiling will be the color of all health care discussions this year. Only a small preview today.
- “When my Republican colleagues want to debate how best to protect the disabled community, consider the implications of the proposed cuts that the Republican majority would like to make in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. We need to,” said Rep. Frank Pallone in his opening remarks.
Here’s what else you should know from the hearing:
1. Senators are still Despite nearly five years of debate on the topic, there is far from consensus on how to prevent the spread of fentanyl-related substances.
- Republicans continue to support the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would permanently classify this substance as a Schedule 1 drug. This would mandate a minimum prison sentence for individuals convicted of related crimes.
- Some Democratic commissioners, such as Rep. Angie Craig, have said they support class-wide scheduling, while others are adamantly opposed to the policy. However, the Republican bill does not include specific guardrails.
2. There are pitfalls Chairs Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ legislation seeking to ban QALYs from federal programs. (Her son was born with Down syndrome, so this is a personal issue for her, and QALY downplays the treatment of disabled people with short life expectancies.)
- A Republican-sponsored bill to end the use of indicators that link the value of drugs to the quality and quantity of life gained from their use has drawn interest from Democrats, including Rep. Anna Eshu, a key member of the subcommittee. Collecting.
- But the bill could have negative consequences, Families USA executive director Frederick Isasi argued at the hearing. The law’s broad language will create loopholes for pharmaceutical companies to gouge out drug prices, he said.
- McMorris Rodgers said he was open to working on the bill’s language after Isasi’s testimony.
- Notable: Few Democrats stayed in the hearing long enough to discuss QALYs.
