The 21st Century Cures Act set for a House vote Wednesday is one of the most-lobbied health care bills in recent history, with nearly three lobbyists working for its passage or defeat for every member on Capitol Hill.
More than 1,455 lobbyists representing 400 companies, universities and other organizations pushed for or against an earlier House version of a Cures bill this congressional cycle, according to federal disclosure forms compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. A compromise version was released over the holiday weekend.
The bill includes funding for enhanced cancer and Alzheimer’s research and would boost funding for the National Institutes of Health to $4.8 billion. The bill would speed up the drug and device approval process at the Food and Drug Administration.
Other than major appropriations bills, a transportation spending bill and an energy infrastructure funding bill, the Cures Act garnered more lobbying activity than any of the more than 11,000 bills proposed in the 114th Congress, an analysis of the CRP data shows. It’s also the second-most lobbied health care bill since 2011, following only the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which, among other things, overhauled Medicare payments to health providers. […]
Several nonprofit patient advocacy and research groups have opposed the bill, citing concerns about endangering patients with simplified drug and device approvals.
Beyond the pharmaceutical industry, the bill’s supporters include universities, medical schools and groups representing them, as well as patient groups funded by drug and device companies, said Diana Zuckerman of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, which has not lobbied the bill but has launched a campaign to convince Congress to “fix” it.
“It really is a David and Goliath issue of where the money is,” Zuckerman said. […]
Hospitals and medical schools, which oppose rising drug costs, supported the bill because the NIH funding could propel grants to medical and research institutions, Zuckerman said. […]
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