POLICY BRIEFINGS

Hart Health Strategies provides a comprehensive policy briefing on a weekly basis. This in-depth health policy briefing is sent out at the beginning of each week. The health policy briefing recaps the previous week and previews the week ahead. It alerts clients to upcoming congressional hearings, newly introduced bills, regulatory announcements, and implementation activity related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and other health laws.


THIS WEEK'S BRIEFING - MARCH 25, 2019

House Dems to Unveil “Sweeping” Health Bill Tuesday


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has announced that Democrats plan to release a “sweeping” piece of health care legislation tomorrow (March 26). The bill will be aimed at lowering health premiums and out-of-pocket costs and protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions. The timing of the introduction is set to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being signed into law, and the legislation is expected to address what Democrats characterize as the Trump administration’s sabotage of the law.


HELP Sends Surprise Billing Policies to CBO for Analysis


The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has sent the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) a series of options for analysis that would protect patients from surprise billing. One option sent to CBO for consideration would entail an arbitration process to determine how much the insurer pays the doctor or hospital. Another option would set a payment rate based on a percentage of Medicare’s payment rates or another similar metric. Under a third option, a single hospital bill would be sent to the insurer that includes all doctor’s fees. Additional policies were also sent to the CBO for consideration. Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are currently working with a bipartisan group of senators, including Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), on a legislative solution to the issue of surprise billing.



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