Bipartisan U.S. Representatives Expand on “Cures 2.0” Vision

Last week Politico Pro reported that U.S. Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) further elaborated on their vision to revamp the 21^st Century Cures Act. Members seeking more background on their proposal might be interested in this September article. The 21^st Century Cures Act, passed in 2016, is highly relevant to the disability community because of electronic visit verification (EVV) provisions in the bill.

As reported by Politico Pro:

“Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) today released a broad vision document calling for the expansion of the 21st Century Cures Act, the 2016 health technology law touching data sharing, FDA regulation, precision medicine and NIH funding.

Among their new goals are ensuring that Medicare and other payers cover digital health products, expanding patient access to new therapies, increasing the use of real-world evidence in FDA’s regulatory process, and improving family caregivers’ health literacy, the lawmakers wrote.

Upton and DeGette called their concept “Cures 2.0,” describing it as an attempt to ‘modernize coverage and access to life-savings cures in the United States and across the globe.’ They asked for input on a potential bill by Dec. 16.

Upton and DeGette say they’ll focus the new legislation on insurance coverage, aiming to speed coverage of new FDA-approved drugs and devices by Medicare, Medicaid and private payers.”