LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE
Week in Brief
CHIP Legislation Advances in both the House and the Senate. House Energy & Commerce Committee Advances Independence at Home Legislation. The Senate Confirms Eric Hargan as Deputy Secretary of HHS, and Representative Tim Murphy (R-PA) Chairman of the House Oversight & Investigations Committee Resigns from Congress.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
October 3
Hearing Screenings: The House of Representatives Unanimously Passes S.652, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2017.
Medicare Part B Drugs: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) Issue a Statement on the Trump Administration’s Decision to Withdraw the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s (CMMI) Proposal to Change How Medicare Pays for Part B Drugs.
Investigational Drugs: The Subcommittee on Health of the Energy and Commerce Committee Holds a Hearing Examining Patient Access to Investigational Drugs and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded access program. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Issue Opening Statements.
Opioid Abuse: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Urges Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Secretary Don Wright to Increase Safeguards Against Opioid Abuse.
October 4
Confirmation: The Senate Confirms Eric Hargan as Deputy Secretary of HHS.
CHIP: The Senate Finance Committee Holds a Markup to Consider the Keep Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act of 2017. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Issues an Opening Statement. Hatch and Wyden Praise Committee Advancement of the KIDS Act, Which Contains a Five-Year CHIP Funding Extension.
Independence at Home, CHIP: The House Energy and Commerce Committee Holds a Markup to Consider Health Care Legislation, Including Independence at Home (H.R. 3263) and CHIP Legislation. The Legislation Advances. Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Issues a Statement.
Medicare: The House Ways and Means Committee Holds a Markup of Legislation to Repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Ranking Member Sandy Levin (D-MI) Issues an Opening Statement. The Legislation Advances.
October 5
Resignation: Representative Tim Murphy (R-PA), Chairman of the House Oversight & Investigations Committee, Resigns from Congress.
Opioid Crisis: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Holds a Hearing on the Federal Response to the Opioid Crisis.
Contraception: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Issue Statements on Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act.
REGULATORY UPDATE
Department of Health and Human Services
October 2
Part B Drugs and Medicare: OIG Issues Reports,
- Medicare Part B Drug Payments: Impact of Price Substitutions Based on 2015 Average Sales Prices
- Shortcomings of Device Claims Data Complicate and Potentially Increase Medicare Costs for Recalled and Prematurely Failed Devices.
October 4
IPPS: CMS Corrects Errors in the FY 2018 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) Final Rule.
SNF: CMS Corrects Errors in the FY 2018 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment Systems (SNF PPS) Final Rule.
Regulatory Reform: CMS Withdraws Various Proposed Rules:
- Medicare Program; Part B Drug Payment Model;
- Medicare Program; Establishment of Special Payment Provisions and Requirements for Qualified Practitioners and Qualified Suppliers of Prosthetics and Custom-Fabricated Orthotics;
- Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Revisions to Certain Patient’s Rights Conditions for Participation and Conditions for Coverage.
October 5
APM: CMS Launches the Qualifying APM Participant Look-Up Tool.
Prescription Drug User Fees: OIG Releases a Report, the Food and Drug Administration Generally Spent Prescription Drug User Fee Collections Appropriately.
October 6
Contraception: HHS, DOL, and the Treasury Department Issue an Interim Final Rule Regarding Religious Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Contraception Under the ACA.
Department of Veterans Affairs
October 2
Telehealth: The VA Proposes Changing its Regulations to Standardize the Delivery of Care Via Telehealth.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Congressional Hearings/Markups
HOUSE
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Member Day on the Opioid Crisis
• October 11, 2017 | 10:15 a.m.
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Hearing Examining How Covered Entities Utilize the 340B Drug Pricing Program
• October 11, 2017 | 10:00 a.m.
2123 Rayburn House Office Building
For more information about this issue of Power Play: Washington Week in Review or more legislative and regulatory updates, contact the Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville Government Relations and Public Policy group at (202) 466-6550.