Policy Corner: December 13, 2019

Appropriators Reach Tentative Agreement on Spending Bills

It was reported that Congressional negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on $1.37 trillion in federal spending for twelve appropriations bills which will need to be passed to keep the federal government running after the current funding measure ends Dec. 20. The House wants to vote on appropriations bills next week in order to give the Senate time to pass the legislation. Specifics have not been released.

Disability advocates, including the Brain Injury Association of America, have been working with House and Senate leaders to include several health care extenders that are set to expire at the end of the year in the spending bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, education, and related agencies. These include relief for Medicare beneficiaries who will face even higher prescription drug out-of-pocket costs due to increase Jan. 1 in Part D catastrophic coverage. Advocates also pushed for making the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), Money Follows the Person Program (MFP), and spousal impoverishment protections for spouses receiving HCBS, the same as when a spouse receives nursing home services.

House Passes Drug Pricing Bill 

The House of Representatives passed the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, H.R. 3. The bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs, which current law prohibits. Specifically, CMS must negotiate maximum prices for (1) insulin products; and (2) at least 25 single source, brand-name drugs that do not have generic competition and that are among the 125 drugs that account for the greatest national spending or the 125 drugs that account for the greatest spending under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage (MA). The negotiated prices must be offered under Medicare and MA, and may also be offered under private health insurance unless the insurer opts out. The bill authorizes but does not direct the president to authorize the cost negotiations.

Senate Finance Chairman and Ranking Member Releases a Prescription Drug Pricing Bill

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released an updated version of their bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, S. 2543. They announced an agreement to fund expiring health care programs, including a permanent extension for the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program; permanent protection for Medicaid recipients of Home and Community-Based Services against spousal impoverishment; extensions of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Trust Fund with an increased level of mandatory appropriations through fiscal year 2029; and extension of Medicaid funding for the territories with increased funding for four years; including program integrity improvements for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program.

BIAA Supports SSI Restoration Act

BIAA has signed on to a letter to protect Medicare beneficiaries against further increases of out-of-pocket costs, improve enrollment, and extend critical Medicaid programs and funding as called for in the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2019, H.R. 4280, and the Filter Bubble Transparency Act, S.2763. These bills would update the income and asset limits and inflation-adjustments, and end benefit reductions for SSI recipients who are given food or shelter at below-market rates. These changes would allow low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities to save for important needs, accept some help from friends and family, and maximize their financial stability.

ACL Solicits Input to the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is requesting information from individuals and organizations to assist the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council in developing goals, objectives and recommendations for an initial report to Congress and national family caregiving strategy, required by the RAISE Family Caregivers Act of 2017. The Council would like to know more about the challenges faced by family caregivers. This input will help with determining needs for information, resources, programs, and/or best practices to help grandparents, other relatives, and kinship caregivers. The deadline for providing input is Feb. 7, 2020, by 11:59 p.m. (ET). Further information is in the Federal Register. 

CBITF Sets Date for March Brain Injury Awareness Day 2020

The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force (CBITF) will hold its annual brain injury awareness day March 4, 2020 in Washington DC. The day will consist of a fair, briefing, and reception. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living will hold its TBI stakeholder day March 3 – 4, 2020, which will coincide with the CBITF Awareness Day. Be sure to add this to your calendar!