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The House of Representatives passed numerous health bills that Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) helped usher through committee and floor consideration. Dingell is the lead cosponsor on the bills that will improve the safety of drugs sold over-the-counter, strengthen and evaluate emergency preparedness procedures for hospitals and long-term care facilities, help seniors and those with disabilities receive long-term services and supports in their homes and communities, and temporarily extend spousal impoverishment protections for seniors on Medicaid. The House passed each of these bills at the end of last Congress, but they failed to pass the Senate before it adjourned.

“Our work to make health care safer and better respond to consumers will never be done,” said Dingell. “The House has taken action on critical bills to ensure patient safety and streamline making it easier to receive care in the community. The short-term extensions of the Money Follows the Person program and spousal impoverishment protections are important, but I’ll continue working for a permanent solution. I hope this is the beginning of a productive Congressional session where we work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure every American has the right to quality affordable health care.” 

The package of health bills passed by the House includes:

• The Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and cosponsored by Dingell. This bill modernizes the monograph framework for over-the-counter drug products and allows new, safe products to come to market more quickly while addressing safety issues. Also, the legislation boosts the FDA’s budget by creating a new user fee program for over-the-counter drugs which will help give FDA the resources they need to oversee the industry and review new, innovative products.
• The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act which includes Dingell’s Worst-Case Scenario Hospital Preparedness Act. Dingell wrote the provisions in the aftermath of the 2017 hurricane season, which caused flooding and power outages at hospitals and medical facilities from Florida to Puerto Rico, resulting in public health emergencies and, in some cases, loss of life.
• A three-month extension of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration Program, a highly effective program first authorized in 2005, which provides a way for elderly and disabled patients to move from institutional care to home or community-based services. 
• A three-month extension of spousal impoverishment protections for seniors who receive long-term care in their home or a community setting.

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