Published by The Editor on
Thu, 09/13/2018 - 06:06
Washington,
D.C. – Today, the House
unanimously passed four bipartisan health bills sponsored by House Ways and
Means Committee Members.
Upon passage of this
legislation, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX)
released the following statement:
“This bipartisan legislation
is a continuation of the hard work our Committee has done this Congress to
improve the Medicare program to ensure our seniors are getting access to more
options and services. These commonsense measures provide certainty
and flexibility while strengthening the integrity of Medicare. I want to
thank all of our Members for their tireless work on behalf of America’s
seniors, and I encourage the Senate to take action on these measures soon.”
The following bills
were passed by the House today:
1. H.R. 6662, the Empowering
Seniors’ Enrollment Decision Act of 2018, sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Rep.
Ron Kind (D-WI).
This legislation helps
seniors by codifying the Special Enrollment Period offered to Medicare Cost
Plan enrollees in regulation. Doing so ensures these seniors will have an
adequate amount of time to make a decision on Medicare coverage that is best
for them. Additionally, the legislation clarifies that Medicare Cost
Plans have the authority to deem their existing enrollees into a new Medicare
Advantage Plan in future plan years. This will minimize disruption for
our seniors impacted by the mandatory Cost Plan transition.
2. H.R. 6690, the Fighting
Fraud to Protect Care for Seniors Act of 2018, sponsored by Health Subcommittee Chairman
Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
To crack down on
waste, fraud, and abuse, this bill establishes a three-year pilot program to
test the use of smart card technology to strengthen the integrity of the
Medicare program.
3. H.R. 6561, the Comprehensive
Care for Seniors Act of 2018, sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Members Rep. Jackie
Walorski (R-IN), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep.
Ron Kind (D-WI), and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA); Energy and Commerce Committee
Members Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI); as well as
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).
The Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) published regulations in August 2016 proposing
changes to the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). H.R.
6561 directs the Secretary of HHS to finalize their proposed PACE regulations
while providing flexibility to make updates or changes as needed.
4. H.R. 3635, the Local
Coverage Determination Clarification Act of 2018, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Rep.
Ron Kind (D-WI).
This legislation would
establish transparency, certainty, and consistency for Medicare beneficiaries
and providers by improving the process through which Medicare Administrative
Contractors (MAC) make local coverage determinations (LCDs), such as requiring
MACs to publicly post proposed LCDs online.
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