AHSP applauds 21st Century Cures Act

The American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AHSP) has applauded the 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 13.
The bill was enacted to change the way the United States treats disease.
"We're tackling cancer, brain disease, substance abuse disorders, and more," Obama said during the signing ceremony at the White House. "And none of this work would have been possible without bipartisan cooperation in both houses of Congress."
The bill passed through both the House and the Senate with overwhelming majorities; 88 percent of legislators in each political party voted for it.
"By and large," Christopher Topoleski, director of federal legislative affairs for ASHP, said in a statement, "we're supportive of the Cures package.”
Topoleski was encouraged to see additional funding provided for various initiatives and agencies. For example, the National Institutes of Health will receive $4.8 billion and Cancer Moonshot $1.8 billion. $1 billion in funding will go toward state responses to opioid abuse. The director, however, was discouraged by the removal of $3.5 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
“There are some aspects to this bill that were not something that we would necessarily support as standalone measures,” Topeleski said, noting that the positives outweigh the negatives.