WE’RE HEARING THERE ARE LOTS OF HEARINGS — Get ready for a busy week in health care hearings on the Hill, although not much legislation is expected to move. Here’s a rundown of what to watch: Artificial intelligence: The Senate Finance Committee will meet Thursday for a hearing on AI’s “promise and pitfalls” in health care. Witnesses include professors and representatives from tech groups and companies. It comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a similar hearing in November and as Congress’ interest in the technology is rising. Pharma execs: Major pharmaceutical executives are set to testify Thursday before Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to discuss drug prices. The CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck relented in their resistance to testify after Sanders threatened a subpoena vote. The CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb had said he’d testify if another executive appeared. FDA oversight: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is slated to meet Tuesday for a hearing on “shortcomings” in the agency’s foreign drug inspection program. Republican committee staffers write that the U.S. relies too much on foreign manufacturers that frequently violate FDA safety rules. Drug shortages: The House Ways and Means Committee will meet Tuesday to tackle drug shortages. The hearing comes after the Senate Finance and House Energy and Commerce committees have eyed action on the issue. PBMs: The House Oversight Committee marks marking up legislation Tuesday to rein in pharmacy benefit managers. It comes amid a broader bipartisan push to take on PBMs, which negotiate drug discounts with drugmakers and design prescription drug benefits for health plans. QALY BILL HITS HOUSE RULES — A bill that would ban the use of a metric that some see as discriminatory is slated for consideration by the House Rules Committee today. The legislation from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would ban the use of quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs, in federal programs. The metric assesses a drug’s impact on health outcomes and quality of life. Proponents of such a ban argue that the statistic discriminates against people with disabilities by discounting how much treatments can help them. The hearing is a procedural hurdle before a vote scheduled on the bill on the House floor later this week. The legislation advanced out of committee in March, but no Democrats voted for it. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), E&C’s ranking member, has expressed concern that the legislation would interfere with Medicare drug pricing negotiations by barring other cost-effectiveness measures. But some Democrats, like Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), ranking member of the E&C health subcommittee, have previously signaled possible support for the bill and said a deal was in sight. BORDER DEAL TACKLES FENTANYL — Senators unveiled an anticipated $118 billion border deal Sunday that has many provisions aimed at stopping fentanyl trafficking. The deal includes legislation that allows sanctions on fentanyl cartels and beefs up law enforcement spending, including for the Drug Enforcement Administration. It's unclear whether the legislation has the votes to pass the Senate ahead of a procedural vote planned for Wednesday. But House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday the bill would be “dead on arrival” if it passes the Senate. PENALTIES FOR TB OUTBREAKS? Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and other Michigan Democrats are rolling out legislation aiming to prevent future tuberculosis outbreaks from cell and tissue donations. The bill would call on HHS to undergo research and education campaigns and allow the federal government to enact civil penalties for providers who cause an outbreak of a disease like TB. The effort comes after 36 people last year underwent surgeries with tuberculosis-contaminated bone grafts before public health officials could intervene. Five patients contracted TB, and two of them died.
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