WASHINGTON, DC - The Health Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), announced a hearing for Wednesday, September 5, 2018, at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Opportunities to Improve Health Care."
Next week, #SubHealth will review five bills to improve health care in a variety of ways. Specifically, #SubHealth will consider:
* H.R. __, a discussion draft to prohibit the use of so-called “gag clauses" in Medicare and private health insurance plans. Today, some health insurance contracts prevent pharmacists from informing patients when the cash price for their prescription costs less than their insurance cost-sharing arrangement unless the individual directly asks. As a result, customers may be paying more for their prescriptions. This language aims to ban group health plans offered by employers and individual health insurance plans - as well as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Plans - from restricting a pharmacy’s ability to inform a customer about the lower cost, out-of-pocket price for their prescription.
* H.R. __, a discussion draft to codify the Healthcare Fraud Prevention Partnership (HFPP). Currently operated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the HFPP is a voluntary public-private partnership between the federal government, state agencies, law enforcement, private health insurance plans, and health care anti-fraud associations. The HFPP operates to detect and prevent health care fraud through public-private information sharing, streamlining analytical tools and data, and providing a forum for government and industry experts to exchange successful anti-fraud practices. The bill will establish explicit authority for HFPP and its activities, better equipping them to define the rules and responsibilities of its members and expand the scope of allowable activities to address more in the spectrum of fraud and abuse in our health care system.
* H.R. 3325, the Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act, authored by Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), will improve the delivery of care for children with complex medical conditions who receive care under Medicaid, by providing enhanced federal matching for a limited period of time for care coordination services. The bill builds upon the “health home" model that has been successful for helping state Medicaid programs improve care for populations under current law.
* H.R. 5306, the Ensuring Medicaid Provides Opportunities for Widespread Equity, Resources (EMPOWER) and Care Act, authored by #SubHealth Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), will extend the Money Follows the Person Demonstration (MFP) program in Medicaid for an additional five years. The MFP program provides resources to state Medicaid programs to help transition individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities from institutions back into local communities.
* H.R. 3891, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to clarify the authority of State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units to investigate and prosecute cases of Medicaid patient abuse and neglect in any setting, and for other purposes, authored by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), will clarify the authority of State Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Units (MFCUs). This clarification will give these important units the authority to investigate and prosecute abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in non-institutional settings as well as broaden the permissible use of federal MFCU funds to screen complaints or reports alleging potential abuse or neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries.
“From providing better care for children with complex medical conditions under Medicaid to bolstering our health care fraud prevention efforts, these are important, bipartisan policies that can have a tremendous impact on the care of patients across the country," said #SubHealth Chairman Burgess.as they are posted.
