[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PROTECTING AMERICANS' HEALTHCARE

  (Mr. ROSE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROSE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Protecting Health 
Care for All Patients Act of 2023. This important legislation aims to 
prevent discrimination against Americans with disabilities and expand 
access to lifesaving cures.
  It would end the use of quality-adjusted life years in all Federal 
programs. Quality-adjusted life years are factors used to rank whether 
a patient is worth the expense of a particular treatment. This rubric 
intentionally devalues treatment for those who have disabilities and 
those with chronic illnesses. This practice has been widely 
investigated by various nonpartisan groups, and yet QALYs are only 
prohibited to Medicare in a limited fashion.
  We know of countries using these metrics much more aggressively to 
decide which treatments they will fund. We must stand against that in 
the United States. The government shouldn't decide which lives are 
valuable enough for care.

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