The US House of Representatives [official website] on Wednesday approved the 21st Century Cures Act [HR 6, PDF]. The $6.3 billion bill is intended [REUTERS report] to “spur medical innovation, speed access to new drugs, expand access to mental health treatment and battle the opioid epidemic. The Act received widespread bipartisan support, though there are concerns that the bill provides handouts to the pharmaceutical industry and cuts public health programs. The legislation includes 19 core bills [HR 6 details], including measures that will advance personalized medicine, shorten the approval review times for drugs, and boost research for Alzheimers and cancer. The bill also expands access to mental health services. The House approved the bill by a vote of 392-26, and the Senate [official website] will vote on it next week.

Health care has been a major topic over the past year. In November the US House submitted a motion [JURIST report] requesting the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit delay any further action on the appeal of the district court ruling against the Affordable Care Act. Early that month the District of Columbia Council approved a “Death with Dignity” bill [JURIST report] that would allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with a physician’s help. During the election Colorado voters rejected [JURIST report] an amendment that would have created the state’s first universal health insurance program, with over 80 percent of voters voting against the amendment. In October a federal court blocked [JURIST report] a Mississippi law disqualifying Medicaid benefits for non-therapeutic abortions.