Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN-08) voted to pass the Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act (H.R. 766) to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings.

Dr. Bucshon spoke in favor of the Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act (H.R. 766) on the House Floor. His remarks are below:

“I would like to recognize the legacy of Dr. Michael Burgess and support the bill H.R. 766. If Members of Congress can agree on one thing, it’s that we seek to improve the lives of our constituents. Unfortunately, CBO’s current approach to how it develops cost estimates for health care legislation interferes with that goal by failing to take into account all of the future benefits of legislation. CBO’s current approach keeps federal health care programs stuck in the status quo of simply providing care when you get sick – including expensive care – instead of focusing on providing care that keeps you healthy and hopefully from needing more expensive forms of care down the road. CBO’s current approach defies common sense, and it is imperative that Congress directs CBO to more accurately reflect the long term, cost-saving potential of preventive health care initiatives. That is why I am proud to support H.R. 766. To ensure Congress can better evaluate meaningful and impactful healthcare policies that bolster access and quality of care, Congress must pass this bill.”

BACKGROUND

Dr. Bucshon believes it is imperative that Congress directs the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to more accurately reflect the long term, cost-saving potential of preventive health care initiatives.  

The bicameral, bipartisan Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act (H.R. 766) encourages the use of data-informed preventive health measures and would instruct CBO to extend its analysis beyond the existing 10-year budget window to two additional 10-year periods to provide a fuller analysis of the potential impact of preventive health legislation.

The Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act (H.R. 766) narrowly defines preventive health to refer to “action that focuses on the health of the public, individuals, and defined populations in order to protect, promote, and maintain health and wellness and prevent disease, disability, and premature death that is demonstrated by credible and publicly available evidence from epidemiological projection models, clinical trials, observational studies in humans, longitudinal studies, and meta-analysis.”  This ensures the legislation would target the review of evidence-based, preventive health measures to enable Congress to better evaluate meaningful and impactful policies.

Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. represents Indiana’s 8^th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives and is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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