House Committee expected to vote Wednesday to repeal CLASS Act

The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to approve, along party lines, a measure to repeal the long-term care insurance program. Meanwhile, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being pressed to lift his hold on legislation to fund children's hospitals. He has been blocking the measure's progress because he still hopes to add an amendment that would expand it to children's psychiatric hospitals.

Politico Pro: House Panel Set To Vote For CLASS Act Repeal
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to vote along party lines to repeal the CLASS Act on Wednesday, two weeks after its Health subcommittee cast a similar vote. But supporters of the voluntary long-term care program created by the health care reform law continue to fight. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), a CLASS champion, has said he will ask the committee to support appointing an independent advisory council to look into ways to implement CLASS, which HHS dropped last month after finding it was unsustainable. Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) are pushing for a House vote before such an advisory committee can be seated. After the Health Subcommittee vote, the two wrote a letter to Majority Leader Eric Cantor asking him to expedite the bill (Norman, 11/30).

The Hill: Sen. Whitehouse Holding Children's Hospital Bill
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is under pressure to lift his hold on legislation to fund children's hospitals as the clock runs out on this year's congressional session. Whitehouse is blocking a unanimous Senate vote on the program that funds pediatricians' training, sources tell The Hill, because he still hopes to add an amendment that would expand it to children's psychiatric hospitals. Rhode Island is home to Bradley Hospital, which touts itself as the nation's center for training and research in child and adolescent psychiatry. The amendment is controversial, because it's seen as expanding a federal program at a time when legislators are seeking to cut the deficit. But the senator says his amendment wouldn't add a dime to the program's annual $330 million cost (Pecquet, 11/29).

In other news, a House committee will hold hearings on the nation's drug shortage -

Boston Globe: Congress Holds Hearing On National Drug Shortage
The House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care will hold a hearing tomorrow morning to examine the causes behind the shortages of more than 200 older generic drugs that are usually sold at slim profit margins. The shortages have caused patients to miss or delay chemotherapy, as well as to receive inferior antibiotics, anesthetics and intravenous nutrition, according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (Jan, 11/29).