WASHINGTON, DC (May 11, 2017): Today, the Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) – a coalition of employers, insurers, brokers, agents, patient groups, and physician organizations – responded to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee passage of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reauthorization Act of 2017. The legislation reauthorizes four FDA user fees set to expire at the end of September for five years while also including a bipartisan amendment aimed at increasing generic drug competition. This measure reflects key goals of CAHC’s prescription drug affordability initiative: Prescriptions for Competition, Value, and Innovation – set to launch next week.
CAHC President Joel White released the following statement:
“CAHC applauds the overwhelming, bipartisan passage of the Senate HELP Committee’s reauthorization of the user fee agreements, which protects funding for FDA’s work to approve new drugs and medical devices and supports continued implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act that many our members worked diligently to carry over the finish line last year,” said CAHC President Joel White. “Importantly, this legislation also reflects key goals of our forthcoming drug affordability initiative. Our policy solutions focus on increasing competition in the prescription drug market, which the amendment offered by Senators Collins (R-ME) and Franken (D-MN) will help accomplish. Further, our plan urges improved data infrastructure and utilization; something that the FDA’s commitment letter pledges to advance through a data standards catalog and other deliverables. Such measures are needed to lower the cost of bringing drugs to market, track the effectiveness of treatments, and target appropriate therapies for patients. While there is still much work to be done to increase prescription drug access and affordability, this legislation marks an important step forward in the process and complements the proposals that we will formally unveil next week.”
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About the Council for Affordable Health Coverage
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) is a broad-based alliance with a primary focus: bringing down the cost of health care for all Americans. CAHC promotes policies that lower health costs through increased competition, informed consumers and more choices to help promote access to affordable coverage.
About CAHC President Joel White
A veteran of health policy, Joel White became President of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage after serving twelve years on Capitol Hill, where he helped write nine laws, including Medicare Part D, and ultimately rose to the position of Staff Director of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. His writings on health care policy have been published in Fox News, Morning Consult, The Hill, Washington Examiner, and Inside Sources, among others. Joel holds a B.S. in Economics from the American University and is the co-author of the book, Facts and Figures on Government Finance.