February 7, 2024 – Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer: Chavez-DeRemer Votes for Legislation to Protect Health Care Access for Americans with Disabilities
This morning, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) supported H.R. 485, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration. The proposal, led by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), would prevent a practice that health care programs utilize to discriminate against people with disabilities.
“No patient should face worse health care options due to their disability or pre-existing condition. By prohibiting discriminatory measures, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act is commonsense legislation that will help ensure all Americans can access high-quality health care. I appreciate Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers for leading this important effort to improve health care outcomes for our friends and neighbors with disabilities,” Chavez-DeRemer said.
Specifically, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act would ban federal health care programs and federally funded state health care programs from using prices that are based on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) to determine thresholds for coverage, reimbursements, or incentive programs. Put simply, QALYs put a dollar value on the life of a patient to decide if a certain treatment is cost-effective, oftentimes discounting an individual’s worth and need for care solely because of their disability or chronic illness.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
Recently, Chavez-DeRemer helped introduce legislation to improve access to specialty care for patients by expanding telehealth services. She is also an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Safe Step Act to ensure the health insurance industry cannot prevent patients from accessing the treatment they need in a safe and timely manner.
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