TELEHEALTH BILL CHANGES — The Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up a pared-down version of a pandemic-era Medicare telehealth extension bill today to align it more closely with legislation the House Ways and Means Committee passed unanimously last week. Instead of making the Medicare rules permanent as in a previous version of the bill, the Telehealth Modernization Act in E&C, an amended version from sponsor Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), would extend them by two years, like the Ways and Means bill. It also would follow the Ways and Means bill by including a five-year hospital-at-home waiver extension and having similar language aimed at reducing fraud in durable medical equipment and lab test orders. But unlike the Ways and Means bill, it would establish payment parity for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics for in-person and virtual care. If adopted, the move to align the bills would strengthen the House’s position in negotiating with the Senate. CARVEOUT REQUESTS — A group of China-based biotech companies faced a setback on Wednesday as the House Oversight and Accountability Committee overwhelmingly advanced legislation that has them in the crosshairs, Megan reports. The bill, called the BIOSECURE Act, would effectively ban the operations of Chinese “companies of concern” in the U.S. by prohibiting them — and any businesses that use their products — from receiving federal contracts, grants or loans. One of those companies, WuXi AppTec, is used by many large drugmakers to help develop and bring medicines to market. In the leadup to the markup, WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics, which have China-based parent companies, had been urging lawmakers on the House panel to remove them from the bill. The companies have been pushing back on lawmakers’ accusations that they have ties to the Chinese government and pose a national security risk. WuXi AppTec flew executives, including Richard Connell, the company’s U.S. and EU president, to Washington as part of the push. Elizabeth Steele, one of WuXi Biologics’ lobbyists, said the company has been working to “educate legislators on what our company does and doesn’t do.” Last month, a spokesperson for Complete Genomics, a California-based company owned by MGI Tech, said its inclusion in the bill “is based on misunderstandings and representations about the company.” The BIOSECURE Act has continued to gain momentum since a Senate committee approved its version in March. WHEN KIDNEYS FLY — A bill reauthorizing the FAA is headed to the president’s desk — and it could change how human organs are transported by air, Chelsea reports. The House approved the five-year reauthorization bill on Wednesday, sending it to President Joe Biden, who’s expected to sign it. The legislation would create a working group that includes air carriers and organ transplant providers to identify best practices for transporting organs in the main cabin of a plane instead of in the cargo hold. Organs were relegated to cargo following the 9/11 attacks when changes made to airport security protocol made it impossible for someone without a ticket to accompany luggage to the gate, meaning groups could no longer bring organs straight to a plane’s cabin. Organ procurement groups have long called for the change.
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