Committee issues discussion draft of 21st Century Cures legislation

House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today released draft legislative text for their 21st Century Cures initiative, which they expect to review at a hearing tomorrow with representatives from the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration. Among other provisions, the discussion draft would increase funding for NIH starting in fiscal year 2016, both through reauthorization and $10 billion in mandatory funding over five years, the committee said. The text also includes a section on “Medicare site-of-service price transparency,” which calls for a public website listing the anticipated cost to the federal government and individuals of certain Medicare services for which payment may be made to a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center. In addition, the discussion draft includes a placeholder for text to address barriers to nationwide interoperability of health technology and calls for the committee’s Bipartisan Telemedicine Working Group to provide text for a section on telemedicine. AHA staff are reviewing the proposed provisions.