Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care.
It was a bipartisan kind of day in health care. The Senate’s top health care leaders introduced their package aimed at lowering health care costs, while over in the House, Republicans and Democrats released drug pricing reforms.
We’ll start with the Senate’s bipartisan plan…
Alexander and Murray reveal sweeping health care package
Sens. Lamar AlexanderAndrew (Lamar) Lamar AlexanderCollins offering bill to boost battery research as GOP pushes energy ‘innovation’ Senate chairman says bipartisan health care package coming Thursday It’s time for Republicans to lead (again) on climate MORE (R-Tenn.) and Patty MurrayPatricia (Patty) Lynn MurraySenate chairman says bipartisan health care package coming Thursday Overnight Health Care — Presented by Campaign for Accountability — House passes drug pricing bills amid ObamaCare row | Senate Republicans running away from Alabama abortion law | Ocasio-Cortez confronts CEO over K drug price tag Bipartisan senators unveil measure to end surprise medical bills MORE (D-Wash.) released their long-awaited package to lower health care costs on Thursday. And there’s a lot in it:
Some of its major provisions would:
- End surprise medical bills. The proposal lays out various options, but all would protect patients from getting massive medical bills when they go to the emergency room and get care from an out-of-network doctor.
- Create more transparency around pharmacy benefit managers, sometimes known as drug “middlemen” to ensure they are passing along discounts on drugs to customers.
- Prevent certain anti-competitive clauses in contracts between medical providers and insurance companies that can drive prices up.
The path forward: Alexander is hoping for committee action in June and a Senate vote in July. The package could be combined with another bipartisan health care package, on drug prices, that Sens. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyThreat of impeachment takes oxygen out of 2019 agenda Trump mulling visit to ethanol refinery later this month: report Nursing home care: A growing crisis for an aging America MORE (R-Iowa) and Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenDemocrats seize on IRS memo in Trump tax battle Momentum grows to create ‘Do Not Track’ registry Senate chairman says bipartisan health care package coming Thursday MORE (D-Ore.) are working on in the Finance Committee.
“These are common sense steps we can take, and every single one of them has the objective of reducing the health care costs that you pay for out of your own pocket. We hope to move it through the health committee in June, put it on the Senate floor in July and make it law,” Alexander said.
Read more on the package here.
Bipartisan House members unveil surprise billing legislation
Momentum is building for a legislative solution to surprise medical bills … but so far, we have only seen disparate pieces of legislation. The latest bill introduced on Thursday was led by Reps. Phil RoeDavid (Phil) Phillip RoeThe nation needs to do more to reduce veteran suicide The Hill’s 12:30 Report: State of the Union takeaways | Sights and sounds from the night | Virginia attorney general admits he wore blackface Activist who met with GOP lawmakers also promotes ‘black violence’ gene: report MORE (R-Tenn.) and Raul RuizRaul RuizCongressional Hispanic Caucus demands answers on death of migrant children Step therapy forces patients to fail first: Congress can fix that Dems brush off unemployment rate, say Hispanics will reject Trump in 2020 MORE (D-Calif.). The lawmakers called it an “outline” of a bill, with a final version to follow in the coming weeks.
The legislation is more in line with the Cassidy/Hassan legislation in the Senate than it is with the other bipartisan House bill introduced less than two weeks ago by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr.Frank Joseph PalloneMcConnell, Kaine introduce bill to raise tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21 The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Pass USMCA Coalition – Restrictive state abortion laws ignite fiery 2020 debate Work on surprise medical bills goes into overdrive MORE (D-N.J.) and ranking member Greg WaldenGregory (Greg) Paul WaldenHere are the eight Republicans who voted with Democrats on the Equality Act House approves anti-LGBT discrimination Equality Act Overnight Health Care — Presented by Campaign for Accountability — House passes drug pricing bills amid ObamaCare row | Senate Republicans running away from Alabama abortion law | Ocasio-Cortez confronts CEO over K drug price tag MORE (R-Ore.).
The differences: Not surprisingly for legislation sponsored by two doctors, the Roe/Ruiz bill calls for arbitration between an insurer and provider when parties can’t agree on what the in-network rate should be.
Meanwhile, the Walden/Pallone legislation would require insurers to pay based on the price paid to nearby in-network providers.
The fact that there are now multiple versions of surprise billing legislation shows that there’s a definite desire to solve the problem. But it also means lawmakers have issues to work out. The legislation from the leaders of committees with jurisdiction over health care will likely carry more weight, though President TrumpDonald John TrumpFeinstein, Iranian foreign minister had dinner amid tensions: report The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump says no legislation until Dems end probes Harris readies a Phase 2 as she seeks to rejuvenate campaign MORE is likely to sign anything that makes it through both chambers in order to declare victory.
And in other bipartisan health care action….
House committee leaders release Medicare drug pricing reforms
The drug pricing action is heating up, with more movement on Thursday in the House.
The chairmen and ranking members of the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees jointly requested feedback on a bill to reform how Medicare Part D pays for drugs.
The bill would:
- Cap seniors’ out of pocket costs for drugs in Medicare
- Change the incentives in the program by reducing the share of costs the government has to pick up for high-cost enrollees.
What’s notably missing: Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which would lose the support of the Republican lawmakers. Instead, this bill focuses on changes to Medicare drug coverage that get bipartisan support.
Read the bill here.
Democrats introduce bill to guarantee abortion access
Bills introduced in the House and Senate Thursday would ban states from passing abortion restrictions that are “medically unnecessary” and interfere with a woman’s ability to get an abortion.
The state laws that would become illegal under the “Women’s Health Protection Act” include bans on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, measures requiring ultrasounds before abortions and law requiring multiple trips to the clinic before obtaining an abortion.
“As extremist lawmakers viciously attack women’s reproductive rights in statehouses across the nation, the Women’s Health Protection Act has never been more urgent or more necessary,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the lead Senate sponsor of the bill.
Reps. Judy ChuJudy May ChuThe Go-Go’s rock the stage at annual ‘We Write the Songs’ DC concert Pelosi faces tipping point on Trump impeachment The Hill’s Morning Report — Presented by Pass USMCA Coalition — Trump: GOP has `clear contrast’ with Dems on immigration MORE (D-Calif.), Marcia FudgeMarcia Louise FudgeHouse Administration Committee to make election security a ‘primary focus’ Dems rally behind Omar as Trump escalates attacks Congressional Black Caucus faces tough decision on Harris, Booker MORE (D-Ohio) and Lois FrankelLois Jane FrankelRepublicans amp up attacks on Tlaib’s Holocaust comments Overnight Health Care: Biden backs Medicare buy-in | New warnings as measles cases surpass record | House Dems propose M to study gun violence prevention House Democrats seek to protect Planned Parenthood from Trump’s funding cuts MORE (D-Fla.) introduced the House version of the bill, which has 171 co-sponsors. The Senate version has 42 co-sponsors.
Why it matters: This bill is specifically aimed at states like Alabama and Georgia that recently passed bills restricting access to abortions.
CMS maintains navigator funding at $10 million
The Trump administration on Thursday announced that it was keeping the funding for ObamaCare “navigators” at $10 million for next year, the same amount as this year.
The amount is a significant decrease from the Obama administration; compared to 2016, it’s an 84 percent reduction.
Navigator programs provide outreach, education, and enrollment assistance to consumers eligible for ObamaCare and Medicaid coverage.
The total available funding will be allocated among the 34 states that use federal exchanges, with a minimum of $100,000 available to each state.
Democrats have seized on the cuts to navigators as proof of the administration’s “sabotage” of ObamaCare and have passed legislation in the House to restore the funding to its original levels.
In the funding opportunity announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it doesn’t need to spend as much money as in the early years of ObamaCare because more people know about it now.
“When Exchanges were in their infancy, and public awareness and understanding of coverage options was low, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) encouraged Navigators to cast a wide net and to provide intensive face-to-face assistance to consumers,” CMS said. The [exchanges] have been in operation since 2013 for the 2014 open enrollment period, and the public is more aware of the options for private coverage available through them.”
What we’re reading
A new Senate health package includes surprisingly aggressive drug pricing reforms (Stat News)
Fact-checking Donald Trump’s claim that drug prices are going down (PolitiFact)
Senators look for bipartisan path on health care amid House squabbles (CNN.com)
Here are the GOP’s secret talking points defending Alabama’s abortion law (Vice News)
SPONSORED CONTENT – PHARMACEUTICAL CARE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
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Also at The Hill
Colorado on Wednesday became the first state in the country to limit how much someone could be required to pay out-of-pocket for insulin.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted this week to impose a one-year restriction on travel to the state of Alabama for official county business after a new law in the southern state banned abortion in nearly all cases.
The Alabama House on Wednesday passed a bill requiring doctors to try to save the life of a baby born after an attempted abortion or face up to 20 years in prison.
Arizona legislative committees on Wednesday pushed forward a bill that seeks to prevent abortions by directing $7.5 million over the next three years to adoption services and apparently funding controversial crisis pregnancy centers.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States by assets, will reportedly no longer offer its services to OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma over the company’s alleged role in the country’s opioid crisis.
State by state
Hollywood invested big in Georgia. A new abortion law is causing some tensions. (The New York Times)
Pregnancy-related deaths are rising in Utah. Experts say extending Medicaid could help those at risk (KUER)
Pennsylvania woman was convinced she bought ObamaCare insurance. She got scammed by a look-alike website (Philadelphia Inquirer)