Tag Archives: Medicare Extenders

More than 50 groups push Congress to extend Medicare programs

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More than 50 groups push Congress to extend Medicare programs

More than 50 groups push Congress to extend Medicare programs

More than 50 health-care organizations are urging Congress to quickly pass a package of Medicare extenders, ideally in an upcoming short-term spending bill, arguing the delay could hurt seniors.

“Now that we are well into 2018, Congress’ inaction on these important Medicare policies could mean real harm to the vulnerable patients we serve,” the groups, including the Caregiver Action Network, Medicare Rights Center and National Partnership for Hospice Innovation, wrote in a letter sent Friday to Republican and Democratic leaders.

Several Medicare programs expired last year. Other health-care programs in need of a long-term funding renewal include special diabetes programs and the community health centers that serve the nation’s most vulnerable.

The last stop-gap spending bill came on the heels of a three-day government shutdown and included funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) predicted Thursday that the government wouldn’t shut down again, as Congress will race to keep the government’s lights on when it returns next week.

Short-term funding legislation hasn’t been released, and it’s unclear if extensions of health programs will make it into the final product.

 

Lawmakers near deal on funds for community health centers

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The Hill Issuewatch Healthcare

Funding for community health centers could finally pass in the coming week as Congress faces a new government funding deadline.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) told The Hill on Friday that lawmakers “hope” to add money for the health centers to the short-term spending bill to be considered before a Feb. 8 deadline for funding the government.

Funding for the health centers, which serve millions of primarily poor people, has been delayed for months, causing uncertainty and in some cases hiring freezes or other steps.

Lawmakers are considering providing two years of funding.

In addition, a number of other health-care items could ride on the next government funding bill, or wait until a longer-term deal in a few weeks. A range of Medicare programs known as “extenders” need to be renewed, for example.

There is also the more controversial issue of actions aimed at stabilizing the ObamaCare marketplaces.

Momentum appears to be increasing for funding known as reinsurance that is aimed at reducing premiums.

Walden is backing a bill to provide the funding in the House, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has been pushing for a similar measure in the Senate.

There is still some uncertainty and many conservatives deride the funding as a “bailout” of ObamaCare insurers.

Any action on ObamaCare stabilization appears more likely to wait as lawmakers try to craft a longer-term government funding deal by March.

Congressional committees are stepping up their efforts to examine the opioid epidemic.

On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on preventing opioid abuse through Medicare. On Thursday, the Senate health committee will hold a hearing on the effects of opioid abuse on children and families.

Later in February, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will begin holding hearings to examine specific legislation related to the crisis.

No Matter What, Congress Will Act On Health Care Next Year

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http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2016/11/07/no-matter-what-congress-will-act-on-health-care-next-year/

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When Congress passed the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (MACRA) last year, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said “stick a fork in it; it’s finally done.” While some elements—especially Medicare’s long-flawed Sustainable Growth Rate formula—were permanently remedied, other provisions were temporarily addressed by the bill and come due again in September or December of next year.

So, while the presidential candidates and others consider broad-based health care policies, the passage of which in the near term is dubious, there is a wide array of issues we can bank on Congress taking up, likely in one, consolidated legislative package.

Funding for the CHIP program may be the foremost among these issues, accompanied by a batch of expiring Medicare “extenders” that Congress typically addresses before they lapse. These provisions, which used to reliably hitch a ride on perennial “doc fix” legislation, are expected to travel together in a bill that, along with Food and Drug Administration user fee reauthorizations, is among a few must-pass health bills in 2017. The package will begin to take shape early in the next Congress and ideally gain focus by spring to give states lead-time for budgetary planning, especially with regard to the CHIP and Medicaid components.

Last year, Senate Democrats pushed for a four-year CHIP funding reauthorization, which would have aligned CHIP funding with the Affordable Care Act’s reauthorization of the program itself through 2019. Their efforts fell short in MACRA, although a two-year funding reauthorization keeps the program in the clear until Sept. 30, 2017.

While it’s early to predict what will be included, we anticipate the following potential items will likely be considered in this CHIP funding and Medicare extenders package: