DCMedical News: Tuesday, June 12, 2018
DCMedical News
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
DCMedical News is published every day either the House or the Senate is in session. Add our domain (dcmedicalnews.org) to your white list. (Courtesy subscriptions may end without notice, and all will end July 31. Subscription information below.)
THE BIG STORY TODAY IN HEALTH CARE
Texas case roils PPACA waters: InsideHealthPolicy reports that “Congressional Democrats, ACA advocates and industry stakeholders vow to fight the Trump administration's surprise move [DoJ memorandum here] in a federal court Thursday (June 7) to try to throw out protections for people with preexisting conditions. The insurance industry plans to file an amicus brief [through America’s Health Insurance Plans, AHIP] opposing the Justice Department's stance, beneficiaries blast the move and Democratic lawmakers call on the administration to reverse course.”
House Begins Voting on Opioid Bills: Beginning today (Tuesday) the House will spend from a week to a week and a half on 34 bills addressing opioid/overdose/abuse problems, the first 26 of them from the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee on the calendar for today. Here are the 26 E&C bills by name and sponsor, with links to the CBO reports (here) on those bills and also on 37 bills related bills from this Committee. Pages 5-8 of the CBO report discuss bills primarily affecting Medicaid, including H.R. 1925, 4998, 5477, 5583, 5797, 5799, 5801, 5808, 5810. Pages 8-10 of the CBO report discuss bills primarily affecting Medicare, including H.R. 3528, 4841, 5603, 5605, 5675, 5684, 5796, 5798, 5804, 5809. The remaining bills affect the FDA (5333), revenue (5752), appropriations and authorizations (pgs. 11-26), and mandates (pgs. 26-27).
1) H.R. 449 - Synthetic Drug Awareness Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries)
2) H.R. 3331 - To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to promote testing of incentive payments for behavioral health providers for adoption and use of certified electronic health record technology, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Lynn Jenkins)
3) H.R. 4284 - INFO Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Latta)
4) H.R. 4684 - Ensuring Access to Quality Sober Living Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu)
5) H.R. 5002 - ACE Research Act (Sponsored by Rep. Debbie Dingell)
6) H.R. 5009 - Jessie's Law, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg)
7) H.R. 5041 - Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg)
8) H.R. 5102 - Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Rep. Katherine Clark)
9) H.R. 5176 - Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. David McKinley)
10) H.R. 5228 - SCREEN Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone)
11) H.R. 5261 - TEACH to Combat Addiction Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Bill Johnson)
12) H.R. 5272 - To ensure that programs and activities that are funded by a grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or loan guarantee from the Department of Health and Human Services, and whose purpose is to prevent or treat a mental health or
substance use disorder, are evidence-based, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers)
13) H.R. 5327 - Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie)
14) H.R. 5329 - Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Susan Brooks)
15) H.R. 5353 - Eliminating Opioid Related Infectious Diseases Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Rep. Leonard Lance)
16) H.R. 5473 - Better Pain Management Through Better Data Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Rep. Barbara Comstock)
17) H.R. 5483 - Special Registration for Telemedicine Clarification Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Rep. Buddy Carter)
18) H.R. 5582 - Abuse Deterrent Access Act of 2018, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Buddy Carter)
19) H.R. 5583 - To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require States to annually report on certain adult health quality measures, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Rep. Yvette Clarke)
20) H.R. 5587 - Peer Support Communities of Recovery Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Ben Ray Luján)
21) H.R. 5685 - Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Rep. John Faso)
22) H.R. 5800 - Medicaid IMD ADDITIONAL INFO Act (Sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton)
23) H.R. 5812 - CONNECTIONS Act (Sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith)
24) S. 916 - Ensuring Patient Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatments Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy)
25) H.R. 4275 - Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act (Sponsored by Rep. Mark DeSaulnier)
26) H.R. 5197 - ALTO Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell)
EVENTS & MEETINGS
June 12
10:00 a.m., HHS Secretary Azar testifies before Senate HELP Committee, the first public hearing on the Administration’s proposals to limit drug prices, as published in the May 16 Federal Register, here.
June 14
1:00 – 2:15 p.m., Alliance for Health Policy, Prescription Drug Costs: Can Increased Competition Restrain Prices?
June 20
AHIP Institute & Expo, San Diego, California.
June 24
Academy Health, Annual Research Meeting, Seattle, Washington.
June 29
Noon – 1:30 p.m., Alliance for Health Policy, Congressional Briefing on Health Care Costs in America.
Special Report: Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System, Hospitals, Long Term Care Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals, FY 2019, proposed rule. Publication date: May 7, 2018. Comment due date: June 25, 2018.
This is the tenth part of a multi-part series on the proposed rule. Our series began with the edition of May 21; previous editions may be accessed by clicking on “View this email in your browser.” The Federal Register document is here.
Proposed LTCH [Long Term Acute Care Hospital] PPS [Prospective Payment System] Changes
“Nationwide, most inpatients are treated in acute care hospitals, but some are admitted to LTCHs. In this proposed rule, CMS is proposing to update the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate by 1.15 percent. This is the payment rate applicable to LTCH patients that meet certain clinical criteria under the dual rate LTCH PPS payment system required by the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013. Overall, based on the changes included in this proposed rule, CMS projects that LTCH PPS payments would decrease by approximately 0.1 percent, or $5 million in FY 2019, which reflects the continued phase-in of the dual payment rate system, which was recently extended through FY 2019 by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. In addition, CMS is proposing to eliminate the 25-percent threshold policy in a budget neutral manner. Under this proposal, the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate is adjusted by a factor (0.9 percent) to maintain aggregate LTCH PPS payments at the estimated levels they would be in absence of this proposed change.”
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.
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June publication dates: 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.
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Notes to: Fred Hyde, MD, JD, MBA; fredhyde@aol.com