Congress

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) are urging Attorney General William Barr and the Department of Justice to reconsider their push to overturn the Affordable Care Act through the courts.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) suggested Tuesday (May 7) that lawmakers may need to weigh how patient privacy could be affected by third-party apps accessing health data, and Senate health committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) agreed that area needs lawmakers’ attention.

The cost of implementing a new system to administer payments from drug makers to pharmacies under the Trump administration’s point-of-sale rebate proposal would increase premiums by about 1 percent of the amount of the chargebacks, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The House is scheduled to vote the week of May 6 on two minor drug-pricing bills that were part of a legislative package the House Energy & Commerce Committee passed last month.

Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced that his committee will hold a hearing next Wednesday (May 8) to evaluate how well the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 is meeting its goals in reforming physician payments and to discuss ways to improve the law’s implementation.

The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday (May 1) said moving to a single-payer health care system could significantly affect the entire economy and laid out key issues for lawmakers to consider when crafting legislation that could affect one-sixth of the gross domestic product, but CBO did not provide a cost estimate or spell out specific recommendations.

Senate health committee members Tina Smith (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) reintroduced a bipartisan bill on Wednesday (May 1) to lower health care spending costs by 50% over 10 years after committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said last month he would soon bring a legislative package together on lowering health costs.

Congressional Medicaid advisers are seeking information from stakeholders about how states regulate large inpatient psychiatric facilities, what types of services those facilities provide, and the availability of outpatient services for patients after being discharged.

President Donald Trump will meet soon with Democrats to discuss policies aimed at lowering drug costs, according to a White House press statement following a meeting on infrastructure that Trump held with democrats Tuesday (April 30) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).