Carey’s bipartisan bill puts breakthrough medical tech in hands of Medicare beneficiaries

U.S. Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) has proposed a bipartisan bill that would improve access for Medicare beneficiaries to new medical technologies that improve healthcare quality and outcomes. 

“Our bill will increase access to innovative treatment options for Medicare beneficiaries,” Rep. Carey said. “We need to make sure that overcomplicated bureaucracy does not stand in the way of Americans getting the best health care available.” 

The Patient Access to Innovative New Technologies Act of 2024, H.R. 7939, which Rep. Carey sponsored on April 11 alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), would create new deadlines to expand the availability of state-of-the-art medical treatments that have been approved or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the Breakthrough Device Program, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Carey’s staff.

“This legislative initiative would incentivize manufacturers of diagnostic and medical devices to adopt new medical technologies with a clean pathway to get these products in the hands of patients,” said Rep. Davis.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, and Baxter’s Kidney Care endorsed H.R. 7939, which has been referred to both the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.