Medicare

President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2022 HHS budget-in-brief doesn’t include specific Medicare legislative proposals, but the president laid out a health care agenda that calls for extending the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by changing Medicare pay to private insurers -- which some lobbyists said is a reference to changing Medicare Advantage payment -- and provider pay.

CMS requests $16.3 million for opioid and substance use disorder support services in its fiscal 2022 budget -- a nearly $13 million increase from the 2021 enacted level -- indicating CMS wants to prioritize tackling the substance abuse crisis this year.

More than 155 House Democrats are pressuring the president to add Medicare benefits, paid for with government drug price negotiation, to his American Families Plan as Democrats try to regain a grip on drug pricing on the eve of President Joe Biden proposing his budget.

Senate Finance Committee ranking Republican Mike Crapo (ID) and House Ways & Means ranking Republican Kevin Brady (TX) say that, after a note from the Treasury Department, they are concerned the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trustees Report may not be released for months -- but the Republicans say they need accurate information on the pandemic’s effect on the trust fund before any major health legislation is passed, and they need that information quickly.

Lawmakers are urging HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to consider exempting rural areas from upcoming pay cuts for physical and occupational therapy assistants -- coming as therapy groups are also seeking to meet with the administration and HHS on the issue as well as on changes to Medicare Part B direct supervision requirements.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Thursday (May 20) called on HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to extend the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization demonstration, which is set to end this year, echoing some providers’ concerns that there will be no suitable alternative for demo participants after NextGen ACOs sunset.

Senators from both parties expressed support for continuing telehealth flexibilities after the COVID-19 public health emergency during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Wednesday (May 19), though some lawmakers and witnesses want to see more data collected on the impact of flexibilities before any extensions are made permanent.

America’s Phyician Groups’ Direct Contracting Coalition is defending the Trump innovation center’s direct contracting demonstrations in the face of concerns from four House lawmakers that the demo moves beneficiaries that opted for traditional Medicare to a Medicare Advantage-like model.

The Biden administration announced Friday (May 14) it’s delaying the Trump-era rule on Medicare instantly covering FDA-approved breakthrough devices until Dec. 15 despite a push by medical device makers and lawmakers to implement the pathway as soon as possible.