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The House overwhelmingly passed a far-reaching measure on Wednesday to increase funding for research into cancer and other diseases, address weaknesses in the nation’s mental health systems and help combat the prescription drug addictions that have bedeviled nearly every state. The bill, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, also makes regulatory changes for drugs and medical devices, which critics argue lower standards to potentially perilous levels. (Steinhauer and Tavernise, 11/30)

After three years of debate, countless hearings, and pleas from patient advocates, lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation to speed new medicines to market and to authorize an additional $4.8 billion in spending for medical research. The House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act by a 392 to 26 vote, showing a bipartisan spirit that has been rare in recent years. The Cures Act now heads to the Senate, for a vote early next week. (Kaplan, 11/30)

The compromise, which envisions spending $6.3 billion over the next decade, was condemned by consumer groups and some Democrats as a present to drugmakers that promised only paltry spending increases for underfunded federal programs. But their objections were overwhelmed by an alliance among Republicans, many Democrats and the White House for a 996-page measure that bore wins for both parties. (Fram, 11/30)

The measure also wraps in separate legislation that contains an extensive program to promote treatment of mental illness and would provide $1 billion to prevent and treat the national scourge of opioid addiction. These provisions helped to rally lawmakers from both sides of the aisle around the bill, which passed 392-26. The bill, with a price tag totaling $6.3 billion, also includes $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health over 10 years and $500 million for the new programs within the FDA. (Burton, 11/30)

Patient groups and drug and medical device companies have been pushing for the legislation for more than a year. Riding a rare wave of bipartisan support in the House, the legislation is expected to be taken up by the Senate early next week. Supporters say the bill will foster innovation and save the lives of Americans with diseases for which there is currently no hope. “We are on the cusp of ­something special — a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform how we treat disease,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) on Wednesday during a House debate on the bill. He co-authored the legislation with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.). “With this vote, we are taking a giant leap on the path to cures.” (Johnson, 11/30)

The legislation has also generated concerns among many consumer advocates, who have warned that provisions that would speed federal regulatory review of new drugs and medical devices could expose patients to new risks. “While many harmful provisions have been improved or removed … there are still many provisions in the renegotiated bill that remain problematic for public health,” Public Citizen noted in a statement. Several leading liberal lawmakers have also blasted the legislation for including what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this week called “corporate giveaways that will make drug companies even richer.” (Levey, 11/30)

Democrats agree reforms are needed in mental health, though they note that the bill lacks funding. They say the bigger policy response to mass shootings should be gun control. (Sullivan, 11/30)

The next step is the Senate, where liberal lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders, Dick Durbin and Elizabeth Warren have raised concerns about whether the bill would overly weaken standards for the approval of drugs and other therapies in an effort to more quickly get them in the hands of patients. (Matthews, 11/30)

Connecticut Democratic lawmakers split with Rep. Rosa DeLauro and other progressives in their party Wednesday over a bill that includes Sen. Chris Murphy’s mental health bill and authorizes spending $1 billion to treat and prevent opioid addiction. The House approved the measure on a overwhelming 392-26 vote. Reps. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; John Larson, D-1st District; Jim Himes, D-4th District; and Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, voted for it. (Radelat, 11/30)

This week, Congress is taking back up a sweeping bill introduced last year that would expand medical research funding while also loosening the regulations for approving new drugs and medical devices. While the legislation has undergone revisions, it still includes many of the deregulatory provisions that have drawn criticism from some consumer safety advocates. Back in October 2015, we detailed the bill's origins and the massive lobbying push by the drug and device industry supporting it. This might seem to be a rough political patch for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. (MacGillis, 11/30)

Advocates for addiction treatment in Massachusetts on Wednesday launched a campaign to persuade Senator Elizabeth Warren to reverse her opposition to a bill known as the 21st Century Cures Act, saying the state needs money for addiction treatment that the legislation could provide. Warren, who worked on the bill for two years and wrote parts of it, turned against it Monday, saying it had been rewritten to benefit pharmaceutical companies at the expense of consumers. (Freyer, 12/1)

Members of a House committee on Wednesday said they want the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to invite more input to ensure its guidance, which can influence how much an insurer pays for preventive services, is independent and unbiased. During a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, GOP lawmakers took turns expressing concern that patient access was being affected by the panel's efforts to control costs. (Johnson, 11/30)

With Republicans just weeks away from possibly repealing the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature domestic policy program, it may seem like an odd time to look for bipartisan unity on legislation related to health care. Nevertheless, Congress appears to be ready to pass a major bill funding medical research and overhauling the approval process for new drugs and medical devices. The 21st Century Cures Act, which spans 25 separate sections touching on subjects as diverse as drug research and foster care, runs to nearly 1,000 pages. As with any piece of legislation so large, the bill is packed with elements that draw both praise and angry criticism. (Garver, 11/30)