“We Must Affirm Every Person’s Life has Value”

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) testified before the Rules Committee today in support of H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act. Her legislation bans Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and other similar measures from being used in federal health care programs, removing a key way that these programs discriminate against people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

Remarks as prepared for delivery: 

“Chairman Cole and Ranking Member McGovern, thank you for considering my bill, the ‘Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act.’ 

“This is an important piece of legislation that will help ensure that patients with disabilities can get the health care that they and their doctors think best.  

“I hope that preventing discrimination against people with disabilities and chronic illnesses and affirming every person’s life has value is something we all can agree on.” 

SUPPORTING DIGNITY FOR ALL PEOPLE

“As many of you know, my son Cole was born with a special, extra twenty-first chromosome—otherwise known as Down syndrome.  

“When Cole was born, doctors gave us a long list of challenges and chances for heartache. I could have never imagined just how positively he would impact this world.  

“Today, Cole is a fun-loving sixteen-year-old with big dreams. He wants to be a football player, a pastor, and a race car driver. He’s on the basketball team and plays two instruments.   

“For Cole, the sky’s the limit.   

“Cole, and others with disabilities, deserve every opportunity to succeed, we shouldn’t be discounting their potential or pre-judging their quality of life just because of their disabilities.” 

DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE

“Unfortunately, several tools frequently used in our health care system do just that.  

“Quality-Adjusted Life Years, or QALYs, and other similar discriminatory measures are used to determine how cost effective a treatment is based on its success at returning a sick person to perfect health.  

“So, if a treatment allowed someone already wheelchair bound to live longer, that treatment would not be seen as valuable as those treatments aimed at diseases affecting younger and healthier populations. 

“Measurements like QALYs remove the consideration of unique circumstances and health conditions of a patient and their doctor’s judgment from deciding what’s best for the patient.  

“I’m not alone in opposing the use of these measures.   

“Democrats acknowledged this when they banned the use of QALYs in Medicare in the Affordable Care Act.   

“The non-partisan National Council on Disabilities wrote a report in 2019 titled ‘Quality-Adjusted Life Years and the Devaluation of Life with a Disability’ that condemned the usage of QALYs and has continued to write additional letters to Congress urging that we ban the use of QALYs.

“Additionally, we’ve heard from over 100 advocacy groups spanning the political spectrum who are calling on Congress to prohibit the use of QALYs and other discriminatory measures.”

BANNING QALYs

“My bill—that is before us today—bans federal payers, like Medicaid and VA Health Care, from using QALYs or other discriminatory measures that devalue the lives of people with disabilities, and it does this by simply applying the current ban on QALYs and other similar measures that exists in Medicare to all federal payers.

“In passing this bill, it will mean that health care bureaucracies can no longer determine someone’s life is worth less just because they have a disability or chronic illness.

“This would be a big deal. Medicaid is the largest payer for people with disabilities—and we are letting it use measures that discriminate against the people that it was designed to support.

“And that’s to say nothing of the millions of injured or disabled veterans who rely on the VA for their care—which is also allowed to use these types of metrics.

“However, let me be clear in this, my bill does not prohibit federal health care programs from rewarding value or finding other ways to hold down costs.

“If a treatment does not work or shouldn’t be covered, or it’s more appropriate to start with other, more cost-effective treatments first, nothing in this bill will preclude federal payers from continuing to make these kinds of coverage decisions.

“In fact, the National Council on Disability has already identified alternative ways to measure value that do not devalue the life of someone with a disability or chronic disease.”

GIVING PATIENTS HOPE

“Because of Cole, I’ve spent my time in Congress as an ability advocate, encouraging people to focus on every individual’s God-given talents and potential.

“Millions of Americans like him need their voices to be heard.

“Whenever I meet with someone with a disability or chronic illness or with their family, I hear the same thing over and over again—they want the same chances to succeed in life as everyone else.

“Banning the use of discriminatory measures by federal payers will help ensure that every patient can be treated fairly and get the care that they need.

“I urge support for this legislation.”