CQ's Armstrong discusses proposed public health plan option; new bill on FDA tobacco regulation

Drew Armstrong, a Congressional Quarterly staff reporter, discusses the latest developments in efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system, legislation that would give FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products and a new bill that would allow FDA to approve generic versions of biotechnology drugs in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

Armstrong says that President Obama, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and other Democrats are considering a public health plan option to compete with private plans, an idea that is "becoming the biggest issue for Republicans." Last week, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that it will be difficult for Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise on a public plan option, but he did not dismiss the possibility for an agreement, according to Armstrong. Armstrong says that both parties will have to find a way to address the issue if they want to develop a bipartisan bill. He adds that Democrats are considering using the budget reconciliation process to push through health reform legislation, but "obviously it would upset Republicans greatly and diminish the idea that it was a bill written by both sides."

Armstrong also discusses a bill (HR 1256) approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week that would grant FDA authority to oversee the labeling, marketing and packaging of tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco. He says that the bill is expected to proceed to the House floor sometime in the next few weeks.

Finally, Armstrong discusses a bill (HR 1548) introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) that would give brand-name biotech drugmakers 12 years of market exclusivity. The bill competes with another Democratic measure (HR 1427) introduced by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that would provide five years of exclusivity with an optional three-year extension for new improvements and indications. According to Armstrong, Eshoo, her supporters and other Democratic lawmakers who support biotech companies might join with some Republicans to try to make Waxman's bill more similar to Eshoo's bill (Armstrong, "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ," 3/23).

The complete audio version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.org.