The 116th Congress is set to begin on January 3, 2019 and many elected representatives are serving for the first time- in fact, about 20% of the 116th Congress is newly elected to their seats.
Democrats will have control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, with 63 Democratic freshmen filling out a class of 100 new representatives. There will be a total of 234 Democrats in the House, and 200 Republicans. Conversely, Republicans have shored up their lead in the Senate, where 7 Republican freshmen will be seated, while only 3 Democratic freshmen will be seated. The new Senate count is 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats/ Democratic Caucus Independents.
Headlines have touted unprecedented numbers of women, minorities, and first-time candidates taking office as a result of the 2018 election. Also of note is the addition of 5 medical professionals to the House of Representatives: three doctors, one dentist, and a nurse. This points to the growing importance of healthcare issues to voters and legislators. For example, Lauren Underwood (IL-6) is a nurse who was diagnosed with a heart condition as a child. She ran her campaign, and ousted an established incumbent, on a platform of protecting care for people with pre-existing health conditions. AADE hopes to capitalize on the growing importance of healthcare issues to voters in the coming congress.
With a “divided government” and many lawmakers setting their sights on the 2020 presidential election, we are not expecting the passage of much sweeping legislation in the coming term. However, healthcare issues are expected to remain a central focus for political discourse. Here are a few possible policy changes to watch for:
- Requiring drug manufacturers to disclose list prices in TV advertisements;
- Mandating greater transparency in drug manufacturer and pharmacy benefit manager relationships;
- Increasing Medicaid penalties on drug manufacturers that increase list prices above the inflation rate; and
- Preventing brand drug companies from utilizing Food and Drug safety programs to block cheaper generic drug competition.
In the meantime, you can still contact your elected representatives to introduce yourself, talk about diabetes and health care, and let them know the reintroduction of the Expanding Access to DSMT bill will be coming soon! Click here to send a letter to your representatives now.
Also, do not forget to Subscribe to the AADE Advocacy Forum for legislative updates as the 116th Congress gets underway.