Medicare

The leaders of the Senate Finance and health committees met Tuesday (July 30) to begin cross-committee talks on drug pricing, the chairmen said.

Hospitals would have to publicly post pay-specific negotiated prices of their “shoppable services,” including x-rays or caesarean deliveries, under CMS’ proposed 2020 outpatient rule, as the agency also doubles down on its site-neutral and 340B pay cut policies that hospitals have slammed.

CMS proposed a payment rule Monday (July 29) meant to encourage dialysis facilities to adopt new equipment and supplies while also increasing pay for those facilities and updating the pricing system for medical devices.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Katie Porter (CA) last week dived straight into an ongoing controversary over industry-funded premium assistance programs by asking HHS’ Office of Inspector General to investigate the American Kidney Fund and suspend the advisory opinion that lets AKF take contributions from dialysis firms without facing anti-kickback penalties.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) released a rural health plan Friday (July 26) that includes proposed improvements to Medicare and Medicaid, particularly for seniors and new mothers, following on the heels of other presidential hopefuls who have released health plans to address rural populations, seniors, and mothers.

Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows (R-NC) said Thursday (July 25) it is “very likely” the Trump administration will take its own steps to lower drug prices in Part D, though the details are in flux. Meadows said he attended a drug-pricing meeting Wednesday between President Donald Trump and drug lobbyists that was first reported by Politico.

Thirteen Republican senators and one Democrat voted Thursday (July 25) to kill President Donald Trump’s plan to connect Medicare payment for physician-administered drugs to foreign drug prices in a rebuke of one of the administration’s last remaining drug-pricing policies.

A measure to ban drug rebates that aren’t shared at the point of sale might be added to the Senate Finance Committee’s drug pricing bill before a floor vote, Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden (OR) said Thursday (July 25) during the bill’s markup.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) is touting an Avalere analysis that found the think tank’s universal health care proposal, under which Americans could choose between enrolling a beefed-up Medicare plan or keeping their existing coverage, would cost less than $3 trillion over 10 years and could be fully funded without having to levy taxes on the middle class.