DCMedical News: Tuesday, April 24, 2018
DCMedical News
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
DCMedical News is published every day either the House or the Senate is in session. Want to subscribe? See below. Add our new domain (dcmedicalnews.org) to your white list. Welcome to our new “courtesy trial” recipients.
THE BIG STORY TODAY IN HEALTH CARE
Spending, continued: Omnibus (all 12 appropriations bill, one vehicle) vs. Minibus (3-5 bills, agencies grouped), amendments vs. no amendments, apportionment of non-defense increases, all up for debate in the FY2019 appropriations process. Two House appropriations subcommittees begin mark-up of bills this Thursday, the full House Committee will mark-up bills May 8, the Senate is on a less well-defined schedule for May.
DOCTORS, NURSES, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
Balance billing, Medicare minus: CMS is planning a new pay model (here) which would allow Medicare beneficiaries to contract directly with physicians. Balance billing (for amounts in excess of the Medicare fee schedule) is not available to physicians now unless they opt out of Medicare completely, a perilous effort. Supporting the effort: several physician societies, Catholic hospital chain Ascension, opposed are consumer advocates. More comments by May 25. All 4,643 pages of suggestions to the CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation here.
HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
GME: The Senate has begun consideration of S2597 (committee mark-up planned today), to reauthorize the program of payments to children’s hospitals that operate Graduate Medical Education programs (here). The reauthorization would be from 2018 through the end of Fiscal Year 2022, with a total of $330 million authorized each year.
HEALTH INSURANCE, MEDICARE, MEDICAID
Short Term Limited-Duration Insurance (STLDI) plans: The proposed rule (here) would extend these plans to 364 days’ duration, compared to the current limit of 90 days. Insurers wanted less: In their letter to HHS (here), AHIP recommended (a) STLDI plans be limited to six months, with renewal not permitted; (b) mandatory disclosure to consumers that a STLDI “is not comprehensive individual market health insurance”; (c) re-affirmation by HHS of the rights of states to regulate STLDIs.
The Association for Community Affiliated Plans commissioned a study on the impact of the proposed STLDI rule on the ACA-compliant individual health care market, here. Their report anticipates that the proposed regulations would, in 2019, increase ACA-compliant individual market premiums by approximately 0.75 to 1.7% and decrease enrollment by 2.7% to 6.4% (396,000 to 826,000 individuals). After full implementation of STLDI plans, premium increases of 2.2% to 6.6% and enrollment decreases of 8.2% to 15.0% are predicted.
The rule may not be final until the fall, and not effective until 2019, with insurers pressing for an effective date of 2020.
PHARMA
Opioid Legislation from the HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee: S2680 (summary here, committee mark-up planned today), the “Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018,” bill text here, is the “bi-partisan” senate offering on the opioid crisis. The bill (149 pages) includes assistance in the crisis through NIH, the FDA, SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), the CDC, the DEA, the State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) and miscellaneous grants for children, families and workers impacted by the crisis.
IQVIA: New Report (here) from “IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science” (formerly Quintiles and IMS Health) on drug spending. In 2017, $324 billion total. Retail declined 2%, hospitals grew 6%, brand name drug prices increased (net of discounts and rebates) 2%, opioid prescriptions were down.
Drug companies and drug prices: STAT reports that the President’s speech on drug prices, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed, will be rescheduled for “sometime in the near future.” HHS Sec. Azar still convalescing. Also, STAT (here) on the role of the Federal Trade Commission, looking at the consolidation of pharma.
EVENTS & MEETING
April 24
2:00 p.m., CMS Long-Term Services and Supports Forum, call-in (800) 837-1935, Conf. ID: 32640817
April 25
8:00 a.m., Roll Call, “Health Care Decoded,” decoding by Roll Call staff, some Members of Congress
and advocates.
1:00 p.m., House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health meets to mark up some of the 60 bills on opioids developed or offered as a result of that group’s multiple hearings. The bills can be found at:
https://energycommerce.house.gov/markups/subcommittee-vote-on-opioid-legislation-and-h-r-5554/.
2:00 p.m., House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations subcommittee hearing on workforce programs.
3:00 p.m., The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee holds a hearing on "Soaring
Prescription Drug Prices: A Bitter Pill to Swallow," rsvp to joy.lee@mail.house.gov, livestream at https://www.facebook.com/HouseDemocrats/videos/10155306726053548.
April 26
10:00 a.m., Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health holds hearing on “Identifying Innovative Practices and Technology in Health Care.”
Health Datapalooza (AcademyHealth, HHS), Washington Hilton, continuing April 27.
May 3
8:30 a.m., HRSA, Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry, continuing
on May 4th; conference call-in number: (800) 857-9729, Passcode: 1318150.
Description and additional information in the Federal Register, here.
May 6
American Hospital Association Annual Membership Meeting (Washington, DC), through May 9.
May 8
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (House E&C) will hear testimony from the chief executives of AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal and McKesson, concerning pill dumping in W. Virginia and other matters.
May 16
11:00 a.m., National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (Federal Register here).
June 19
AHIP Institute & Expo, San Diego, through June 22.
June 24
HFMA Annual Conference, Las Vegas, through June 28.
June 24
AcademyHealth, through June 26, Convention Center, Seattle, Washington.
FOR REFERENCE
Members of the Senate (here) and Members of Senate Committees (here), Senate Calendar (here).
Members of the House with their House Committees (here), House Calendar (here).
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE FOR DCMEDICAL NEWS
DCMedical News is published every day that either the House of Representatives or the Senate is in session.
Past issues can be accessed by clicking on “View this email in your browser.” Subscription information is found at the bottom of these pages. Trial subscriptions may end without notice.
Additional April publication dates: 25, 26, 27.
May publication dates: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
June publication dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.
July publication dates: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31.
August publication dates: 1, 2, 3.
Notes to: Fred Hyde, MD, JD, MBA; fredhyde@aol.com