Throughout the 118th Congress, House Republicans have led on major legislative initiatives to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of the American people while preserving their freedoms. Despite what the President will likely say during his State of the Union Address tonight, Americans should know the truth:  

Lowering Health Care Costs for Americans

Chair Rodgers touts passage of the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act at a press conference. 

Led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, will lower health care costs by increasing transparency in the health care market. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 320 to 71. 

How the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act helps patients:

Increases Price Transparency Throughout the Health Care System for Patients 

• Empowers patients and employers to shop for health care and make informed health care decisions by providing timely and accurate information about the cost of care, treatment, and services  
• Makes health care price information public by ensuring hospitals, insurance companies, labs, imaging providers, and ambulatory surgical centers publicly list the prices they charge patients
• Lowers costs for patients and employers by requiring health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to disclose negotiated drug rebates and discounts, revealing the true costs of prescription drugs  

Addresses the Cost of Prescription Drugs 

• Lowers out-of-pocket costs for seniors who receive medication at a hospital-owned outpatient facility  
• Expands access to more affordable generic drugs  
• Equips employer health plans with the drug price information they need to get the best deal possible for their employees  

Supports Patients, Health Care Workers, Community Health Centers, and Hospitals 

• Fully pays for expiring programs that strengthen the health care system by:  
• Supporting Community Health Centers, which are crucial for patients in rural and underserved areas  
• Supporting training programs for new doctors in communities  
• Preserving Medicaid for hospitals that take care of uninsured and low-income patients  
• Extending funding for research to find better treatments and a cure for diabetes, which affects more than 37 million Americans 

READ: 

The House Passed a Long-Needed Health Care Price Transparency Measure

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Increased Transparency in Health Care 

Fighting to End the Fentanyl Crisis and Support Individuals Struggling with Substance Use Disorder

Michael Straley testifies about his late daughter’s struggle with substance use

disorder at field hearing in Gettysburg, PA.

Led by Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Rep. Anne Kuster (D-NH), the Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization (SUPPORT) Act of 2023 continues providing substance use and opioid use disorder treatment and recovery services to millions of Americans seeking help to overcome their substance use disorders, including through workforce training and access to long-term recovery services. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 386 to 37. 

How the SUPPORT Act helps patients: 

• Permanently places xylazine in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, while maintaining access for veterinarians and ranchers to use in animals.  
• Continues providing resources for training and education related to fentanyl and other illicit substances for first responders, particularly in rural areas.  
• Renews support for individuals in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery to live independently and participate in the workforce. 
• Protects moms and babies by reauthorizing resources for residential SUD treatment for pregnant and postpartum women.  
• Permanently lifts Medicaid’s IMD Exclusion, which restricts access to care for rehab and institutional care services.  
• Ensures Medicaid beneficiaries have access to Medication Assisted Treatment.  
• Is fully compliant with House Republicans’ fiscal responsibility framework and spending is offset with reductions elsewhere. 

READ: 

District Update: E&C Republicans are Championing Solutions to Lower Health Care Costs and Improve People’s Lives

Health Subcommittee Chair Guthrie: SUPPORT Act is Important Step to Addressing Overdose Epidemic 

RECAP: Health Subcommittee Field Hearing in Gettysburg, PA

Deb and Ray Cullen share the tragic story of how their late son Zachary

was poisoned by fentanyl at a roundtable.

Led by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Bob Latta (R-OH), the HALT Fentanyl Act will make the temporary class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent and give law enforcement the tools they need to keep Americans safe. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 289-133. 

READ:  

E&C Republicans Host Roundtable on Fentanyl Crisis and the Southern Border 

E&C Republicans Hold Roundtable on the Dangers of Big Tech and the Fentanyl Poisoning Crisis 

In the News: Republicans Host Roundtable to Discuss Open Border’s Impact on Fentanyl Crisis 

E&C Republicans Lead Passage of Bipartisan HALT Fentanyl on House Floor 

Protecting Americans with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses from Discrimination

Led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), and GOP Doctors Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M. (R-OH), and Rep. Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, which would expand access to lifesaving cures and prevent discrimination against Americans with disabilities.

How the Protecting Health Care for all Patients Act helps Americans: 

• Prohibits the use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and other similar discriminatory measures in all federal programs—an expansion from the current prohibition that only applies in a limited fashion to the Medicare program.  
• QALYs devalue the life of people with a disability or those with chronic illnesses to determine whether the treatment is cost-effective enough to be paid for by the federal government. The use of QALYs is a clear form of discrimination. 

READ:

ADA Author: Congress Needs to Act to Ban a Practice that Devalues Disabled Lives

Restoring Freedoms from Government COVID Overreach and Ending Mandates

Led by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act would lift the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on federal health care workers. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 227 to 203.

Led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), H.R. 185 would terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for foreign travelers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 227 to 201.

Led by Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), the Pandemic is Over Act would force the Biden administration to end the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Shortly after announcing a vote in the House, President Biden announced plans to finally end the public health emergency. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 220 to 210.

READ: 

Chair Rodgers Statement on COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Extension