Bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have released a discussion draft marking continued progress in the 21st Century Cures Initiative. The discussion draft is the product of months of bipartisan negotiations and bipartisan staff continues working toward finalized legislation.
The biggest and best provision included in the draft provides for an increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both through reauthorization and $10 billion over five years in mandatory funding, starting in FY 2016.
The discussion draft also includes provisions to:
- Incorporate the patient perspective in the discovery, development, and delivery process.
- Foster development of treatments for patients facing serious or life-threatening diseases.
- Repurpose drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases and conditions.
- Modernize clinical trials.
- Break down barriers to increased collaboration and data sharing among patients, researchers, providers, and innovators.
- Help the development of personalized and precision medicines so the right patient can receive the right treatment at the right time.
- Provide for continued work in the telehealth space.
- Advance a truly interoperable health care system.
- Provide clarity for developers of software products used in health management and medical care.
A complete section-by-section summary of the discussion draft is available online here and a one-page summary is available online here.