On July 10, 2015, the House of Representatives passed on a 344-77 vote the 21st Century Cures Act, H.R. 6, legislation intended to improve the drug and device development processes and expedite patient access to medical treatments. A blog post highlighting key drug and device development provisions of the bill is available on our Life Sciences Legal Update blog.  Other provisions of the bill addressing a variety of Medicare and Medicaid policies, including Medicaid drug and durable medical equipment payment policy, Medicare imaging reimbursement, and civil monetary penalties in cases of HHS grant or contract fraud, are discussed in previous posts.  The Senate is operating on a separate track, and is expected to consider this issue later this year.