Today the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health convened a legislative hearing on the ACE Kids Act. The ACE Kids Act, HR. 546, was first introduced in the 113^th Congress and subsequently in the 114^th Congress by Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Gene Green (R-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), and David Reichert (R-WA).

“This hearing marks a substantive step forward for the ACE Kids Act,” stated Barton. “Our aim is simple - to put medically complex children and their families first. The current burden placed on these families is overwhelming, to say the least. With the health home model found in this bill, our nation’s most qualified children’s hospitals providers will be empowered to do what they do best.”

“After today’s hearing and with more than 200 cosponsors, I am optimistic that Mr. Barton and I are on a path to work with our colleagues in this great bipartisan effort to pass the ACE Kids Act, which will significantly benefit our most vulnerable patients with complex medical conditions,” U.S. Rep. Castor said. “I want to thank St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and their patients and families – especially Tish West – for contributing so much to today’s hearing. More importantly, I want to thank St. Joseph’s for leading the nation in modeling how care can be coordinated through a medical home, using taxpayers resources efficiently and providing relief to struggling families – rather than a costly, fragmented system.”

Barton and Castor would like to especially thank Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA) for her tireless leadership on the ACE Kids Act. Congresswoman Herrera Beutler has experienced firsthand the heartbreaking struggles that families with medically complex children must endure. She has dedicated herself to educating stakeholders and Members of Congress on the issue.

By coordinating and improving access to care, the ACE Kids Act would help streamline services and reduce the hardships our nation’s sickest children and their families must go through. In the House, this bill has 212 cosponsors, and a companion bill in the Senate has 38 cosponsors. The bill is supported by a wide range of stakeholders, including the Children’s Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association, and the National Down Syndrome Society. Barton and Castor are confident this bill can reach President Obama’s desk before he leaves office.

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