Capitol Hill Briefs
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Colon cancer screening bill introduced in House: Reps. Kay Granger, R-Texas, and Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., sponsor legislation to provide $725 million over five years for colorectal cancer screening. H.R. 1189, introduced Feb. 25, would provide grants to states for colorectal cancer screening of people over 50 and others at high risk, plus additional diagnostic and treatment services for colorectal cancer. The bill would extend Medicaid benefits to pay for treatment of colorectal cancer or complications from colorectal screening. It asks for $50 million in FY 2009, ramping up annually to $250 million in FY 2013. States would match the federal grants with $1 for every $3 of federal funds provided. The bill was referred to House Energy and Commerce
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National Pain Care Policy Act, a bill introduced by Reps. Lois Capps, D-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich., passes in the House March 30 and is introduced in the Senate March 19 by Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The House and Senate versions (H.R. 756 and S. 660) are identical, and would authorize an Institute of Medicine conference on pain care, a pain consortium at the National Institutes of Health, and $5 million annually for pain care education of health professionals ("1The Gray Sheet" March 9, 2009, p. 10). Pain treatment device makers Medtronic and Boston Scientific are among those endorsing the legislation as a way to improve patient care
Pain care bill advances in Congress
National Pain Care Policy Act, a bill introduced by Reps. Lois Capps, D-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich., passes in the House March 30 and is introduced in the Senate March 19 by Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The House and Senate versions (H.R. 756 and S. 660) are identical, and would authorize an Institute of Medicine conference on pain care, a pain consortium at the National Institutes of Health, and $5 million annually for pain care education of health professionals ("1The Gray Sheet" March 9, 2009, p. 10). Pain treatment device makers Medtronic and Boston Scientific are among those endorsing the legislation as a way to improve patient care
Patent Reform Bills Clear House And Senate Judiciary Committees
The House and Senate Judiciary Committees each approved versions of patent reform legislation last week that respond to some concerns raised by device and drug lobbyists, but industry will seek more changes before the bills go to a floor vote