On health policy, there’s ‘never a lull’

Age: 32

Alma mater: University of Buffalo

Occupation: Republican chief counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee

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Washington Examiner: How did you get started in health policy?

Edattel: I worked with [former Rep.] John Shadegg, I was his healthcare person. I was working with him during healthcare reform and then came to work for the committee itself when we took the majority in 2010. Last summer, I went to work for [the former] speaker for a brief stint and then came back.

Examiner: What are the best and worst things about working in health policy?

Edattel: You’re always busy, so that’s good and bad. It’s a little difficult to figure out what to focus on because there’s so much going on. There’s definitely never a lull.

Examiner: Energy and Commerce’s biggest healthcare accomplishment last year may have been passing legislation aimed at reforming the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies dealing with medical cures. What do you think is the best part of that bill?

Edattel: If we’re talking just the FDA parts, we have a number of provisions in there related to biomarker qualification. It’s really about advancing regulatory science at the agency, making sure they’re not using 1960s thinking in 2015 as they look to try to judge whether a cure is safe and effective using things that couldn’t be measured 50 years ago.

Examiner: As you know, the bill went through several iterations. Are there any parts you wish wouldn’t have been cut?

Edattel: Our goal was to try to get a product through relatively quickly in 2015 to keep the pressure moving to get something signed into law. There are obviously a number of provisions we’re hoping can get added later in the process. Lab-developed tests and making sure the regulatory system surrounding them promotes innovation, that’s an area where we’re taking a look and hoping the Senate can do more work there.

Examiner: What do you think of Sen. Lamar Alexander’s recent decision to advance several different cures bills instead of just one on the Senate side?

Edattel: We were very excited about the announcement … We think it’s a good step forward in the process of reaching resolution. I think it improves the possibility that we get to a process where the House and Senate work out their differences to get to a bill we can put on the president’s desk.

Examiner: But won’t it be hard to actually pass FDA reform in an election year?

Edattel: In addition to the election year, there’s a functional issue in terms of the number of days the House and Senate are in session. The first half of this year is the time Congress will use to pass bills through and reconciling bills. I don’t think we have a soft deadline in mind, but obviously we’re cognizant of the calendar and hoping we’ll get something done this year.

Examiner: Another big issue on your plate is mental health reform. What’s the holdup with Rep. Tim Murphy’s long-championed bill?

Edattel: I would push back a little on the word holdup. We’re working diligently to get the process moving forward so we can head to full committee markup. The staff is spending a lot of time working on issues. It’s an important priority for Chairman [Fred] Upton and for the conference as well.

Examiner: But do you actually believe the bill will move forward? Some mental health advocates doubt it will.

Edattel: Yeah, I do.

Examiner: Will Democrats be willing to pass mental health reform without gun control measures attached?

Edattel: They have a better sense of how they’ll approach it. We need to move forward on mental health reform irrespective of where the parties are on the gun issue.

Examiner: What else does the committee have coming down the pipeline?

Edattel: I think one of the big issues we’re focusing on is that we launched a Medicaid task force in November. Our members on the Republican side of the aisle are working hard to add upon the Medicaid reform ideas. It’s a big part of our committee’s jurisdiction in terms of the dollar expenditures that flow through our committee, so it’s an area where we’re looking to develop more policy. It’s the elephant in the room when it comes to the trajectory of federal spending.

Examiner: Speaking of Medicaid, how are Republicans responding to Obama’s request for more funding for states expanding the program under Obamacare?

Edattel: It’s a nonstarter and it’s dead on arrival. One of the things I think is indefensible when it comes to the Affordable Care Act is the federal government is paying a bigger share of healthcare for able-bodied working adults than it is for the disabled, children and pregnant mothers. It’s providing 100 percent match for able-bodied adults, but the traditional match is much lower for those populations in the state … It’s diverting resources from people who need the safety net.

Examiner: Why should anyone believe Republicans will introduce a unified Obamacare replacement plan this year when they’ve failed to so many times before?

Edattel: I think there are a lot of little and big bills that could replace Affordable Care Act or parts of it. Chairman Upton teamed up with Sens. [Richard] Burr and [Orrin] Hatch on the Patient Care Act last February. We got a lot of applause for that from bipartisan experts across the spectrum as the most serious replacement out there.

Examiner: How will the process of crafting a replacement work?

Edattel: I think we’re still thinking through how to best structure that and make sure there’s participation across our conference. The speaker has said the committees are going to drive the process in terms of coming up with ideas to replace the ACA, so I think there’s a cadre of ideas out there.

Examiner: Won’t it be politically risky for Republicans to propose a detailed health reform plan that Democrats could criticize for not covering as many people?

Edattel: We’ve already taken that risk, we’ve put out a detailed plan that stacks up pretty well against the ACA.