October 26, 2023
Today, the House Appropriations Committee Health Care Task Force (HCTF) began its first Congressional Roundtable in earnest. The roundtable brings together bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Philip Swagel, independent experts, and stakeholders to analyze policies impacting U.S. drug development, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We discussed the CBO method.
The HCTF Member Roundtable, led by Michael Burgess, MD (R-Texas), will ensure that future analyzes capture additional policy factors impacting U.S. medical innovation and subsequent real-world impacts. , potential refinements and improvements to the CBO drug development model were considered. .
Photo: 1st Health Care Task Force Roundtable in action
Health Care Select Committee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-Texas) washington times Ahead of today’s roundtable, I will share the task force’s goals with the American people.
word on the street washington times:
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“As the federal government looks for new ways to spend tax dollars, American families are huddled around dining room tables trying to figure out how to tighten up the $6.4 trillion in total federal spending this year. With nearly one-third going to health care, it’s time for Congress to follow the lead of the American people and act to rein in health care spending in Washington.”
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“I am grateful for the confidence President Arrington has placed in me to carry out our mission. It’s about finding ways to improve health outcomes while reducing federal spending. ”
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“In the debate around reducing health care costs, it is essential to strike a balance between sustaining innovation, as innovation plays a vital role in long-term cost containment by reducing the burden of chronic disease…Innovation Encouraging the development of new treatments by accelerating clinical drug development can not only reduce long-term health care costs, but also envision potential cost savings from treating debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. It highlights the strong correlation between medical innovation and costs.”
- “Today’s roundtable is a forum for constructive dialogue. We are committed to understanding how CBOs are evaluating the impact of policy on drug development and identifying areas where we believe improvements are needed. This discussion is critical to creating informed health care policies that preserve treatments for patients who desperately need them.”
Key takeaways from the roundtable:
- Mr. Schultes shared with members his research demonstrating how the IRA’s price control provisions differ from CBO’s estimates, highlighting how he used a more detailed methodology to pinpoint the law’s impact. , and came up with a larger estimate of the decline in profits for manufacturers and companies. Far fewer drugs reach patients.
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Mr. Korchinsky discussed how the IRA’s passage forced a major strategic shift and sounded the alarm about the law’s impact on patient access to treatments and the U.S. innovation ecosystem.
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Holtz-Eakin brings her experience as CBO director during the passage of Medicare Part D benefits in 2003 and how CBOs can integrate feedback from independent experts to improve models. I told the members about it.
- CBO Director Swagel detailed to members how CBO arrives at the hypotheses underlying its drug development model and consulted with members of Congress, stakeholders, and independent experts to develop policy analysis methods. He expressed his intention to continue engaging with experts.
Budget Committee Chair Jody Arrington (left) and Budget Health Task Force Chair Michael Burgess (right)
Conclusion:
The HCTF looks forward to continuing to work with CBOs in a collaborative and constructive manner to ensure that policymakers use the best available analysis when making decisions. That future is only possible through dialogues like the one the task force held today, and Chairman Arrington would like to thank CBO Secretary Swagel for taking the time to actively participate and work together toward this goal. I would like to express my gratitude to the expert committee.
