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ICYMI: The Washington Examiner: “The dermatologist in Congress”

October 6, 2020

The Washington Examiner today published a profile of Congressman John Joyce (PA-13), highlighting how his medical background prompted him to run for Congress and how his first-hand knowledge of the health care industry has influenced the legislation he has worked on during his first term. The Pennsylvania lawmaker and former physician discussed his new bipartisan legislation to make generic drugs more accessible for patients and some of his broader beliefs about the future of health care. Some highlights from the story can be found below.

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The dermatologist in Congress
Cassidy Morrison
Washington Examiner
May 21, 2019

A year ago, Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., was a full-time dermatologist alongside his wife in his hometown of Altoona. Becoming a politician was never his plan, but when a congressional seat opened up in 2018, Joyce threw his hat into the ring because, in his opinion, none of the other candidates adequately addressed healthcare.

...

Though Joyce had never held public office, he said he andldquo;always wanted to serveandrdquo; and knew he andldquo;had the ability to do that through being a doctor to many patients.andrdquo;

andldquo;People in my district would ask me things like, andlsquo;Why do my prescriptions cost so much?' andlsquo;Why does my copay go from $20 to $50 every time I go see a physician?'" he said. "It encouraged me to continue with this pursuit.andrdquo;

andhellip;

Joyce wanted to get to work on improving access to health services as soon as possible. Just five months after being sworn into office, he sponsored his first bill, which is meant to lower drug prices.

The legislation aims to speed up the process of approving generics and putting them on the market. It would require the Food and Drug Administration to check that countless requests pouring in from individuals and health organizations to renew brand-name patents actually come from the citizens, rather than from drug manufacturers seeking to protect exclusivity for their drugs.

andhellip;

Joyce teamed up with Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., to draft the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2019. The Senate version of the bill also has bipartisan co-sponsorship. An optimist, Joyce says the bill's bipartisan and bicameral support will lead to andldquo;small but significant changes.andrdquo;

andhellip;

As the owner of a private practice, Joyce says he saw prices and copays for simple procedures increase sharply when Obamacare was enacted.

Joyce continued to practice in the run-up to the election. One day, a new patient came to see him. He had recently started his own business cleaning offices, but a wart on his foot pained him with every step. The procedure to remove it was simple, and after receiving wound care, the patient thanked Joyce for waiving his copay. Confused, Joyce asked what he was talking about.

The patient, who had enrolled in an Obamacare plan, had a copay of $165 for the visit, but the administrative staff waived the fee because they could not rationalize charging that much money for what Joyce called an easy procedure. The patient told Joyce that he enrolled in an Obamacare plan, believing it would be an affordable way to get coverage, but noticed that fees for essential health services were unsustainable. Healthcare had become one of his biggest financial strains.

Joyce said this was not an isolated incident. He had seen numerous patients enrolled in Obamacare plans come in, having been led to believe their out-of-pocket costs would decrease, only to find the opposite to be true.

andhellip;

andldquo;Working in the healthcare field and keeping in the lane where I want to be, working for my constituents and advocating for affordable healthcare andhellip; that defines why I'm here,andrdquo; he said.

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Read the full article HERE.

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Issues:Health