Dangerous 21st Century Cures Act coming around again

Bad legislation never really goes away.

When the time is right, especially when we’re totally distracted by Hilary’s email, Trump’s tax returns, and whether or not Oprah is really going to tie the knot, it comes back to haunt us.

Well, that’s exactly what’s going on with the 21st Century Cures Act. It’s a dangerous bill that I’ve been warning you about since last year.

As I said before, this legislation is guaranteed to kill. It’s a Big Pharma free-for-all that will put millions of us in harm’s way. And once again, it’s up at bat.

Only now, its supporters — from both parties — have a whole new plan to sneak it into law.

And unless we wake up in a hurry, they just might succeed this time around.

‘Doing their homework’

“There’s no excuse for not finishing our work in September.”

What Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander was referring to back in July is the 21st Century Cures Act. It’s the biggest gift to ever land on Big Pharma’s doorstep (more on that in a minute).

This spring, I told you about two strategies these pharma-friendly politicians might use to shove this legislation, or major pieces of it, through to President Obama’s desk.

Now, not only is another angle in the works, but a social media ploy was rolled out at the beginning of the month with “Cures rallies” going on in Washington.

But in reality, this legislation will be causing more suffering than cures.

For example, it would:

• Allow risky drugs to hit the market faster than ever before and with even less FDA oversight.
• Give huge amounts of money to the National Institutes of Health to bring to the table in developing drugs and vaccines in alliance with Big Pharma.
• Drop a requirement that drugs show a “clinical benefit” before approval.

But perhaps the most devious and industry-friendly provision of Cures has to do with medical device approvals. It would allow the marketing of medical devices such as heart valves and pacemakers that had never been properly tested, based simply on the say-so of medical journal articles.

Two perfect examples of why these laws should be made stronger, not weaker, are power morcellators that have been known to spread uterine cancer, and those surgical scopes that became breeding grounds for deadly superbugs.

Dr. Hooman Noorchashm, whose wife Dr. Amy Reed now has stage IV cancer due to morcellation surgery, says that part of Cures “will cause potentially disastrous outcomes for unsuspecting American patients.”

The sponsors of this legislation may have failed to get it on Obama’s desk last spring, as they had hoped to, but can be depended on to keep trying until they do.

Now, they believe, it can be accomplished simply by swapping out the original Cures bill (already passed in the House last year) with a new version agreeable to its Congressional sponsors and then speeding it along to the Senate. There, it would require only a 60-vote motion for a final vote, which could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

Advocates for the bill say they have been busy “doing their homework” over the summer and were optimistic that September would bring a successful outcome.

That’s why it’s so important that we also do our homework and not take our eye off what Congress is up to while we’re being distracted by the daily campaign follies.

Now is the time to contact your senators and tell them to oppose the 21st Century Cures Act.

Because the only cures it will offer are ones for Big Pharma’s bottom line.

Sources:
“Cures bill proponents aim for September vote” Caitlin Owens, September 1, 2016, Morning Consult, morningconsult.com