U.S. House of Representatives

Consumer / Employer, Legal

House Committee Chairman Launches Investigation into PBMs, Rising Drug Costs

James Comer (R-Ky), House Committee on Oversight and Accountability chairman, sent letters to the Office of Personnel Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Defense Health Agency asking for documents that show how PBMs’ practices are affecting federal government healthcare programs. In addition, he sent letters to CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, asking them to provide information on their tactics.

Hospitals

HOPE Act could mean HIV patients’ organs no longer turned away for ‘positive-to-positive’ transplants

The House of Representatives passed the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act Nov. 12. Once signed into law, this would allow ‘positive to positive’ organ donations. According to the Human Rights Campaign: “Permitting organs from deceased, HIV-positive donors to be used for transplant to HIV-positive recipients has the potential to save 1,000 HIV-infected patients with […]

Devices & Diagnostics

Race for resolution: House plan would delay medical device excise tax to end shutdown, Senate plan would ignore it

In the snail race to end the government shutdown, House Republicans have proposed a new bill, which among other things, would delay the medical device excise tax for two years. The current proposal in the Senate doesn’t mention amending, much less repealing, the medical device excise tax. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told the Washington Post  […]

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