“Health on the Hill” Podcast Highlights Budget’s Health Care Task Force Letter to CBO on Drug Development Analysis
“Health on the Hill” Podcast Highlights Budget’s Health Care Task Force Letter to CBO on Drug Development Analysis
This Sunday, November 26th the “Health on the Hill” Podcast highlighted a recent letter led by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX) and Health Care Task Force Chair Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that requests more information on how the nonpartisan office analyzes the effects of legislation that impacts drug development in the United States.
Word on the Street:
Click HERE to listen to the Podcast
The Big Picture:
In August, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey C. Arrington established the Health Care Task Force (HCTF), led by Task Force Chair Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. to examine solutions to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care spending, while also conducting oversight of how CBO estimates the effects of health care policies.
In October, the HCTF held its inaugural Member roundtable to discuss CBO’s methodology for analyzing policies that impact drug development in the U.S., including the Medicare drug price “negotiation” provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Task Force members heard from CBO Director Phillip Swagel, independent experts, and stakeholders on how the IRA is already having a chilling effect on medical innovation in the U.S. and discussed potential improvements to CBO’s drug development model.
The letter sent to Director Swagel by Task Force Chair Burgess, Chairman Arrington, and HCTF members requested further information on its drug development model and potential improvements to its methodology to ensure policymakers are armed with the most accurate and up-to-date information when considering legislation that impacts patient access to innovative cures and therapies.
The Bottom Line:
House Budget Committee Republicans will continue to lead the way by sounding the alarm on the dangerous consequences of Democrats’ drug price controls on both patients and American biopharmaceutical innovators.
With the growing impact of health spending in the federal budget and new medicines holding the power to reduce long term health spending, it is increasingly important that CBO’s nonpartisan analysis is incorporating the latest data, so policymakers fully understand the impact of policies affecting new drug development in the U.S.
