Policy Corner: November 8, 2019

House Passes Several Health and Veteran-related Bills Last Week

The U.S. House of Representatives passed several bills in addition to the Dignity in Aging Act of 2019, H.R. 4334, last week. These bills included:

• The Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2009, H.R. 886, as amended, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), to provide grants and technical assistance for state, local, and tribal governments to develop and maintain veterans treatment courts.
• The EMPOWER for Health Act of 2019, H.R. 2781, sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) to reauthorize certain programs relating to the health professions workforce. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health amended the Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2019 into the bill July 9. The bill makes scholarships and stipends available to students underrepresented in the professions of audiology, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy (including those who are racial or ethnic minorities) or students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• The Payment Commission Data Act of 2019, H.R. 1781, sponsored by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), to allow certain payment information relating to covered drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicaid to be disclosed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Payment and Access Commission to help Congress better understand the true costs of prescription drugs to consumers and taxpayers.

House Committees Consider Lower Drug Costs Bill

The House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor have considered the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, H.R. 3, sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.). The bill requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate prices on insulin and at least 25 other drugs each year. This would apply to all Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans. It also creates an out-of-pocket limit of $2,000 for Medicare Part D plans.

Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Medicare Telehealth Services 

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), along with Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2019 (S.2741/H.R. 4932). Section 14 of the CONNECT for Health Act increases access to telehealth services, including those provided by audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLP). Additionally, it authorizes a study to examine whether a patient’s home could be used as an originating site, meaning that the patient could remain at home and receive services via telehealth in Medicare. Currently, Medicare doesn’t recognize audiologists and SLPs as eligible telehealth providers.

Senate Committee Approves Health Care Bills

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions unanimously approved several health care bills, in addition to the Lifespan Respite Care Program Reauthorization Act, S. 995, last week. Other bills approved by the committee include: Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2019, S. 1399; United States Public Health Service Modernization Act of 2019, S. 2629; and Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019, S. 2740.

The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2019, introduced by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), reauthorizes nursing workforce development programs at the Health Resources and Services Administration. These programs provide education and training to nurses and nurse faculty to improve access to and quality of health care in underserved areas.

The United States Public Health Service Modernization Act of 2019, introduced by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), establishes a Ready Reserve Corps within the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to make sure vital health care jobs are adequately staffed when disasters strike the United States. The USPHS Commissioned Corps fills health service roles within federal agencies and programs, including the Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Coast Guard. During times of national emergency, USPHS Commissioned Corps Officers are relocated from their stationed roles within these agencies to help with public health emergencies. This leaves vital health care jobs at agencies vacant, posing a risk to citizens in the area who rely on those services for care. Creating a reserve will allow duty stations to fill these vital positions when regular corps officers are called away to respond to public health emergencies.

The over-the-counter (OTC) bill would add new incentives and new user fees to the FDA’s process for approving drugs that do not require a prescription. The purpose of the bill is to update the FDA’s OTC process.

NIH Seeks NCMRR Director

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is seeking to fill the position of director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR). Alison Cernich, Ph.D., who previously served in that position has been promoted to deputy director of the NICHD.

The NCMRR is a major source of research and training to promote the health, productivity, independence, and quality of life for people with disabilities. The NCMRR focuses on such areas of research as: improving movement, promoting recovery, adapting to a disability, and understanding body-injury responses; health promotion and prevention of injury and disability; technology development to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and everyday functioning of people with disabilities; developing assistive devices and bioengineering technologies to promote function and participation; evaluating rehabilitation effectiveness; and training researchers and medical professionals in rehabilitation methods and techniques. Applications must be received by Jan. 3, 2020.