Hospitals testify on proposals to support patients with rare diseases

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Feb. 29 held a hearing on legislative proposals to expand access to treatment for patients with rare diseases, which included two hospital witnesses.

Alexander Bassuk, M.D., physician-in-chief at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, urged Congress to pass the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act (H.R. 4758), legislation that would enable providers to enroll in Medicaid programs in other states to improve children’s access to essential health care while reducing administrative burden.

Aaron Kesselheim, M.D., director of the Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, urged Congress to advance the Retaining Access and Restoring Exclusivity Act (H.R. 7383), legislation that would limit orphan drug exclusivity to the approved indication to encourage market competition.