Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCollum. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 485, the so- called Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act.

The truth is this bill fails to protect health care for all patients. Instead, this bill undermines the Affordable Care Act by stripping funds from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, our nation's first mandatory funding system dedicated to improving our nation's public health system and lowering public health care costs. This critical funding has helped the Centers for Disease Control reduce the leading causes of death and disability nationwide and support early detection of and response to public health threats.

This legislation is a step in the wrong direction. If passed, this bill would make it more difficult to improve the affordability of prescription drugs. House Republicans claim that this bill will help prevent discriminatory policies because it prohibits Medicaid, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, Medicare Part D Plans (PDPs), the VA, and the Defense Health Agency from using Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). The truth is federal law already prohibits Medicare from using QALYs in its coverage determinations, and state Medicare plans are required by law to cover all drugs.

If House Republicans were serious about ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, comprehensive health care treatments, they would have supported clarifying amendments to this bill that would ban discriminatory practices. Instead, we are presented with another bill that does not address the problem and does not put the interests of patients and taxpayers first.

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