Title: 5 Health Care Policy Issues To Follow In 2018 | Publications and Presentations | Arnold & Porter
Headings: 5 Health Care Policy Issues To Follow In 2018
5 Health Care Policy Issues To Follow In 2018
Affordable Care Act "Repeal and Replace"
Entitlement Reform
Prescription Drug Pricing
340B Drug Pricing Program
Opioids
Potential Legislative Vehicles
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
Health Care Workforce Programs
People

Content: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has called for additional funding, though it remains unclear how much Congress will authorize and appropriate. In addition to funding, we expect lawmakers to explore policy solutions, which could include requiring health care providers who prescribe opioids to complete continuing education, expanding the Drug Enforcement Administration's enforcement authority, and strengthening requirements for state prescription drug monitoring programs. Potential Legislative Vehicles
There will be no shortage of legislative vehicles for these policies, as several federal health care programs will be up for reauthorization next year. Programs set to expire at the end of the 2018 fiscal year include: Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act
Legal authorities designed to prepare the United States and health professionals for pandemic, epidemic or biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear accidents and attacks are set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2018. The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 improved the nation's preparedness for public health emergencies. However, our vulnerability to natural and intentional public health threats remains high, as evidenced by the Ebola and Zika outbreaks and reports of enhanced biological weapon capabilities by state actors such as North Korea, combined with the challenge of increased antimicrobial resistance. Congress will need to turn to funding for medical countermeasures such as vaccines, drugs, therapies and diagnostic tools necessary to address public health emergencies and programs that protect Americans and the global community from health security threats. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
The creation of the president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003 was a landmark in bipartisan congressional commitment to combatting the global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics.