Policy Corner: March 4, 2022

President Delivers State of the Union Address

President Biden delivered his first State of the Union message during which, he talked about his efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through testing, vaccines, and treatment, as well as to address the resulting economic woes through the passage of the American Rescue Plan that provided money to states, local communities, businesses, and individuals with disabilities and older adults. His proposed domestic priorities for the coming year include lowering the price of prescription drugs; cutting the cost of child care; setting higher standards for nursing home care; reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act; and expanding mental health treatment and care. The next step will be for the administration to submit the president’s budget recommendations for fiscal year 2023 to Congress. However, appropriations have yet to be finalized by the House of Representatives and Senate for the current fiscal year, FY 2022, which ends Sept. 30. Until the current budget is finalized, the release of proposed spending recommendations for next year will be delayed.

White House Calls for National COVID Plan with a Long COVID Research Agenda

The president announced he will direct federal agencies to develop a National Research Action Plan on long COVID. For the first time, federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defense, will put forward a comprehensive plan to advance research efforts and data sharing across the federal government and in collaboration with academic and industry partners. The plan also states that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will propose and seek funding for a long COVID center of excellence across the country for people dealing with long COVID, a post-COVID syndrome that can manifest as shortness of breath, brain fogginess, fatigue or other conditions. The proposed centers will study and promote evidence-based care for Long COVID. AHRQ’s mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, and equitable.

BIAA Expresses Concerns Regarding Proposed Rule for Prior Authorization for Post-Acute Care for Medicare Advantage Plans

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) joined the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation (CPR) in expressing concerns about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D rule for Contract Year 2023 with regard to prior authorization for post-acute care and network adequacy requirements for MA plans. The letter was sent in response to the request for information with regard to these proposals. The letter expressed concern that prior authorization often results in an unnecessary delay for beneficiaries seeking medically necessary care and often results in no cost savings to the plan. Supporters of the letter explained that data indicates that many MA plans seem to rely on initial denials of prior authorization as a method to delay care even if they expect to eventually approve a given service that is medically necessary for the patient.

The letter also addressed network adequacy noting that CMS does not currently include post-acute rehabilitation programs, such as inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units (IRFs), comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities (CORFs), or long-term acute care hospitals (LTCHs) in the list of facility specialty types evaluated during these network reviews. CPR strongly urges CMS to include IRFs, CORFs, and LTCHs as part of the agency’s network adequacy review process for MA plans.

CBITF Hosts Awareness Day Briefing March 16: Register Now

The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force (CBITF) Brain Injury Awareness Day Briefing will be held virtually on the afternoon of March 16 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET. This year’s theme is The Importance and Value of Advocacy: Engaging with Policy Makers. CBITF co-chairs, Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) will kick off the Briefing which will feature U.S. Representatives and Senators or their staff who will discuss current proposed legislation impacting brain injury and how, as advocates, we can help promote the interests of brain injury. Click here to register.

ACL and CDC Host Brain Injury Awareness Month Webinars

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will hold webinars in observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month.

• Administration for Community Living Virtual TBI Stakeholder Day

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) will host a virtual webinar on March 8 from 12-4:30 p.m. (ET). This year’s sessions will feature Survivor Engagement Strategies, Domestic Violence and the Effect on Children, Effective Partnerships with Behavioral Health with a Focus on Suicide, and Effective Strategies for Using and Leveraging Data. Issues of equity and intersectionality will be woven into each session. Additionally, participants will also hear from leaders at ACL, and other federal partners engaged in efforts to promote and educate communities on the challenges surrounding this field and the promising practices and initiatives occurring at the national level. ACL is in the process of finalizing the agenda. Click here to register.

Sessions will be live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you require additional accommodations to participate or if you have any questions about the sessions, please contact tbitarc@hsri.org.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Webinar: Where Americans Live Impacts Their Change of a TBI-Related Death

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will hold a webinar, “Where Americans Live Impacts Their Chance of a TBI-Related Death,” on March 7 at 2 p.m. (ET). CDC’s Dr. Jill Daugherty will share findings from recent CDC reports about the impacts of where Americans live on their chance of TBI-related death. She will also explore how other sociodemographic factors result in differences in TBI care and outcomes and why better surveillance and programmatic efforts may be needed to bridge these gaps. Click here to register.

BIAA Releases Legislative Issue Briefs

The Brain Injury Association of America released updated Legislative Issue Briefs detailing the critical public policy issues of importance to people with brain injury. Advocates are encouraged to use the issue briefs when working with national, state, and local government officials to educate them on topics ranging from access to care, research, and information about the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force. Click here to view the issue briefs.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action. Click here to read past issues of Policy Corner.