House Health Panel Advances Medicare Wheelchair Upgrade and FDA Animal-Testing Bills

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would change how Medicare pays for lightweight wheelchairs, along with a measure pressing the Food and Drug Administration to make wider use of alternatives to animal testing, the committee said in a release.

The Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia's 9th District, reported all ten bills on its agenda to the full committee by voice vote at the May 13 markup, according to the release. The committee's markup notice shows the session was held in the John D. Dingell Room of the Rayburn House Office Building.

"These bills represent thoughtful efforts from members on both sides of the aisle," Griffith said. "I am encouraged by the collaborative work that has gone into this legislation, and I look forward to bringing them to the full Committee."

Titanium and carbon fiber chairs

H.R. 1703, the Choices for Increased Mobility Act of 2025, deals with Medicare billing for wheelchairs built from lighter materials. Rep. John Joyce, M.D., of Pennsylvania's 13th District, described the problem at the markup as a 2016 policy from the Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administration Contractors.

That policy "severely limited access to titanium and carbon fiber wheelchairs by preventing the billing of the existing code and allowing the beneficiary to cover the difference of the upgrades," Joyce said, according to the committee. "As a result, the only way to obtain a titanium or carbon fiber wheelchair is to pay the entire cost out of pocket by the patient wishing to choose that chair."

Joyce said the effect reaches beyond the wheelchair user to family members and caregivers who lift and push heavier chairs. "This bipartisan legislation will remove the barrier that, since, unfortunately, 2016, has impeded access to lightweight, durable medical equipment for individuals who live day-to-day with mobility impairments," he said.

FDA Modernization Act 3.0

H.R. 2821, the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, builds on a 2022 law. Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia's 1st District, who introduced the bill, said the earlier FDA Modernization Act 2.0 "for the first time, allowed drug developers to use modern, animal-free testing methods as alternatives to traditional animal testing," but said the Biden administration failed to fully implement that law.

"This legislation ensures that the FDA finally carries out the will of Congress and the American people by fully embracing modern alternatives to animal testing," Carter said. He said the bill "will help reduce and replace the use of animals in non-clinical research, while also improving the efficiency of the drug development process."

The subcommittee also reported reauthorizations including the Kay Hagan Tick Act, the EARLY Act, the School-Based Health Centers program, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act and the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, as well as the Accelerating Access to Dementia and Alzheimer's Provider Training (AADAPT) Act, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act and the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act.

All ten bills now go to the full Energy and Commerce Committee.