releases: https://axne.house.gov/media/press-releases/axne-authors-amendments-bolster-hr-3
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| https://axne.house.gov/media/press-releases/axne-authors-amendments-bolster-hr-3 | Axne Authors Amendments to Bolster H.R. 3 | 2019-12-10 | 2019 | 2019-12 | Democrat | House | IA | Cynthia Axne | A000378 | axne.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Cindy Axne (IA-03) submitted four amendments to H.R. 3 to better serve Iowans she has met with over the past 12 months. H.R. 3 will cap out of pocket Medicare drug costs for seniors, allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and is expected to be voted on Thursday, December 12th. Axne's first amendment requires the FDA to report which prescription drugs only have one manufacturer, thus making them vulnerable to price increases. Currently vincristine, a pediatric cancer drug, is experiencing a shortage because the only drug company who made it had a manufacturing issue, resulting in the shortage. Axne, along with ten bipartisan Members of Congress, have already sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services requesting information about this shortage. The vincristine shortage puts children's lives at risk all because we placed our faith into one company without a backup plan. I know there are hundreds of vital drugs that face shortages any given year, which is why I'm calling on the FDA to provide a full list to Congress and outline their plan for improvement, said Rep. Axne. Parents need answers for their children, doctors need answers for their patients, and no American should worry their life saving medication is just going to up and vanish. Axne's second amendment will create a grant program to help reduce health care administrative costs and burdens, as well as reduce costs associated with health care administration by 50% at the federal level. In 2016, a study found that doctors are spending almost twice as much time on administrative work as they do seeing patients. Congresswoman Axne has met with doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and other health providers who are feeling burnt out by paperwork which only exacerbates the doctor shortage that's already occurring in rural America. Ask any health care professional about the excessive and laborious paperwork they have to do, and they'll tell you that it's burning them out on top of wasting time and money. Our hospitals and health clinics are overworked, which is why this amendment is needed now more than ever. By providing grant opportunities to find innovative solutions, we can get out from under the paperwork. This amendment also focuses on reducing the administrative work at the federal level by 50% in 10 years, meaning this grant program will pay for itself, Rep Axne said. Axne's third amendment ensures that no less than 5% of the $500 billion dollars in savings from H.R. 3 will be used to fund the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network through the National Institute of Health. Rare diseases that impact less than 200,000 people often do not get the attention and funding that other, more common diseases receive. Diseases such as Hepatic Porphyria or CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder are just some of the rare diseases that need more investment and funding. Ensuring that no less than 5% of this funding is spent on this research can yield important scientific breakthroughs for many other diseases. I've met with parents whose children have rare diseases. It is heartbreaking and we need to do more to find new treatments, and hopefully cures, said Rep. Axne. We need to do more to accelerate innovation, develop new treatments, and better understand how and why rare diseases happen. That's why I'm submitting this amendment, to fight for those parents and those children. I've been a voice for those with rare diseases and I'll continue to make sure Congress is investing in important research, treatments, education, awareness and hopefully one day a cure. Axne's fourth amendment works to protect Iowans from surprise billing. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Axne introduced the UPDATE Act that would help reduce surprise medical bills by requiring insurance companies to update their network directories. Congresswoman Axne has heard countless stories from seniors and families who called their insurance company, checked to make sure a medical test, procedure, or doctor's visit would be covered only to get a bill in the mail a few weeks later because the insurance company had not updated their records. Patients should be able to trust that when their insurance company tells them a provider is in network, they won't get hit with a surprise out-of-network bill, said Rep. Axne. Middle-class families can't afford to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in surprise medical bills because an insurance company didn't update their website. This commonsense legislation puts the onus on insurance companies to ensure patients are making medical decisions based on accurate information. Axne has been a vocal champion for lowering the cost of health care since she was elected. In January, she joined a bipartisan bill to ensure health insurance coverage for children born with oral birth defects. In March, she was elected to serve on the Congressional Health Care Task Force that works on commonsense solutions to lower prescription drug costs, improve the health care system, and expand access. In May, with Congresswoman Axne's support, the House passed a package of bills that would better protect Iowans with pre-existing conditions. In June, the Congresswoman introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide regulatory relief to rural hospitals and keep providers in rural areas serving their patients, which passed out of the Ways and Means Committee. In July, the House passed Axne-sponsored Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act to repeal the 40% excise tax on employer provided health insurance plans. The Congresswoman also is a member of Rare Disease Caucus, ALS Caucus, Deadliest Cancers Caucus, and others. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |