Congress

Payers are urging CMS to quickly approve additional state waivers to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage beyond 60 days and issue timely guidance for states that want to extend coverage for new mothers by using the state plan amendment created by the American Rescue Plan.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and John Thune (R-SD) on Wednesday (April 28) reintroduced legislation that would codify Treasury guidance and ensure that high-deductible health plans linked to health savings accounts (HSAs) can cover services that help consumers manage chronic disease, a move quickly praised by the Smarter Health Care Coalition, insurers, and other stakeholders who support value-based insurance design (VBID) and have been pushing the bill.

A broad-based coalition focused on value-based insurance design is re-upping its push to let high-deductible health plans (HDHP) linked to health savings accounts (HSAs) cover more items and services needed to manage chronic diseases, like diabetes, prior to the deductible.

Key House Democrats plan to include drug pricing reforms in infrastructure legislation regardless of whether the president calls for letting Medicare negotiate drug prices in his American Families Plan, but Senate Democrats are keeping quiet about their next steps if President Joe Biden excludes drug pricing.

Vermont Rep. Pete Welch (D-VT) said Monday (April 26) that House Democrats have numerous good ideas on how to spend the $456 billion or so that could be gleaned through government negotiation and other policies in their drug-pricing bill, but they need to focus on ensuring the legislation can pass before fighting over other health care investment priorities.

Medicare patient advocates are worried changing payment models for home health care over time have diminished patients’ ability to obtain Medicare-covered home health and home health aide care, and they want Congress to quiz CMS and the appropriate agencies on whether the benefit’s being properly interpreted and administered.

Nursing home patient advocates oppose a bipartisan bill to let facilities retain temporary nurse aides after the pandemic, calling it misguided and arguing the way to fix staff shortages is not by lowering the training bar but by increasing wages.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association wants to reduce racial disparities in maternal health by 50% over the next five years by implementing region-specific programs like providing unconscious bias training to physicians or by pushing legislative reforms, like expanding Medicaid postpartum coverage and passing the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee plans to hold a hearing May 4 on Democrats’ drug pricing bill following its reintroduction Thursday morning (April 22), lobbyists said.