House Republican “Healthy Future” Recommendations Offer Much to Improve Population Health, Care Accessibility

Ideas Offered by Task Force Should Receive Bipartisan Support, HLC President Says 

WASHINGTON – Several health policy proposals offered today by the House Republican Healthy Future Task Force would help combat disease, make healthcare more accessible and affordable, and better prepare the nation for future public health emergencies, the president of the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) said today.

“While these proposals are coming from Republicans in the U.S. House, many of the ideas certainly warrant bipartisan support,” said HLC president Mary R. Grealy. “These are not ideological in nature, but rather pragmatic approaches that can address challenges we face in the form of chronic disease prevalence, healthcare affordability, and preparation for the next pandemic or other health crises.”

Proposals offered by the Healthy Future Task Force that could have an immediate impact in improving the nation’s healthcare system include:

• Implementing out-of-pocket caps on prescription drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries and allowing them to spread those costs over the course of a year.

• Accelerating the Food and Drug Administration approval process to deliver innovative treatments to patients more swiftly.

• Making some of the regulatory flexibilities of the COVID-19 public health emergency permanent fixtures in the healthcare infrastructure.

• Incentivizing greater domestic production of medicines and medical supplies to mitigate against supply chain disruptions.

“We should be hopeful that proposals like these will stimulate debate and discussion and lead to serious deliberations on how to achieve patient-focused healthcare reforms,” Ms. Grealy said.

For Immediate Release
April 28, 2022
Contact: Kelly Fernandez  202-449-3452