US Senate joins House to pass sweeping new health bill

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., left, shakes hands with Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa. and Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich, during a news conference about the 21st Century Cures Act in DC on November 30, 2016.

The 94 to 5 Senate vote Wednesday followed a 392 to 26 House vote last week.

Sandy Hook Promise praises the steadfast dedication of the Senators it also worked closely with to help pass this bill including, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Al Franken (D-MN).

The $6.3 billion, almost 1,000-page (PDF) health legislation has been in the works since 2014 and spans far-flung issues. Under the Bill, FDA funding would increase by $500 million.

The law would provide $4.8 billion over 10 years in additional funding to National Institutes of Health, the federal government’s main biomedical research organization. One catch to the research funding, however, is that the money must be approved by Congress through appropriation bills. The bill has $1 billion attached to it, to be doled out to states based on their per-capita drug overdose rates. First, for the families and communities that have lost too many loved ones to the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic, it invests the $1 billion I requested in my budget to address this crisis. The bill also provides states $1 billion in grants over two years to fight the opioid abuse and addiction epidemic. “The 21st Century Cures Act is a huge deregulatory giveaway to the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, papered over by new funding for those research initiatives”. The bill includes more patient input in the drug development and approval process, and is a boost to the clout of such groups. And ailing patients will see faster approval of new drugs from the Food and Drug Administration. The intent is to make a clearer path to the marketplace. “By connecting doctors and nurses with teams of experts, patients can receive the care they need, when they need it”. BIO President James Greenwood said the bill is an “important victory for medical innovation that will help expedite the development of the next generation of breakthrough medicines”.

McClellan said he also expects the FDA to build in time for public feedback, and perhaps revision, of some of the new mandates. In a statement, Sanders said, “The greed of the pharmaceutical industry has no limit, and this bill includes numerous corporate giveaways that will make drug companies even richer”. She says that, while 21st Century Cures is ultimately a step forward for Americans who have no options for treating their medical conditions, the bill could have gone further to help the most vulnerable patients. “This has the potential to hurt millions of patients”.

Here are some of the winners and losers in the 21 Century Cures Act.

The House: The 900-page health care legislation passed in the U.S. House last Wednesday.

The “21st Century Cures” bill has adopted my “EUREKA” approach with a section titled “EUREKA Prize Competitions”. “I am hopeful the president will quickly sign it into law”, Moran said.

More people died from drug overdoses in 2014 than any other year on record, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which stated that numerous overdoses cases were related to opioids, like prescription painkillers and heroin. “And I believe we should seize every chance we have to find cures as soon as possible”.