Washington D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (WA-05) Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act (H.R. 485) to ban federal health programs from using discriminatory measures known as Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs).

“Every human life has value. The government should not be mercilessly placing a dollar value on someone’s life and denying care just because they have a disability or chronic illness,” said Rodgers. “Patients, and those who are fighting for their loved ones’ lives, have pleaded with Congress to fix a system that actively prevents them from getting the care they need. I’m proud to champion this important legislation that will give patients with disabilities and chronic or rare illness hope.”

BACKGROUND:

H.R. 485 would prohibit the use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and other similar discriminatory measures in all federal programs—an expansion from the current prohibition that only applies in a limited fashion to the Medicare program. 

QALYs devalue the lives of people with a disability or those with chronic illnesses to determine whether the treatment is cost-effective enough to be paid for by the federal government. The use of QALYs is a clear form of discrimination. 
CLICK HERE to read the bill.