The House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee recently endorsed a quartet of bipartisan bills designed to advance public health by addressing clinical care, maternity care, sports medicine and patient access issues, respectively.
Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) introduced HR 309 to establish a National Clinical Care Commission for the purpose of evaluating and improving administration of support programs for individuals with metabolic and autoimmune disorders.
HR 315, the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act presented by Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX), allows the Department of Health and Human Services to collect data to better designate maternal health practitioner placement by region, using existing connections via the National Health Service Corps.
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) led the adoption of HR 302, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2016, to guarantee sports medicine practitioners malpractice coverage when offering care in other states.
HR 304, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016, advanced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), aims to streamline the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Emergency Medical Services division registration procedure, with clarification of EMS personnel’s right to administer controlled substances when emergency conditions meet certain criteria.
“These bipartisan bills mark a strong start to the new year,” Greg Walden (R-OR), who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, said. “By picking up where we left off on important measures to better coordinate care and clarify existing law, we’re one step closer to seeing these bills become law and making improvements to public health.”
