AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION for AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

Support H.R. 315,Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act, a bill to amend the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to extend the temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration; Support H.R. 1332 and S.368,Telehealth Modernization Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency; Letter opposing CMS interim final rule establishing a Most Favored Nation model and urging the agency to withdraw it immediately and replace it with a serious effort at drug pricing reform; Letter urging CMS to rescind its denial determinations for those hospitals that submitted mid-build exception requests due to the agencys failure to meet the required statutory deadline; Discussion with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) about the Radiation Oncology Alternative Payment Model; Urged CMS to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to the hospital price transparency rule until the end of the public health emergency; Support H.R. 1868, a bill that, among other health care provisions, would eliminate the 2% across-the-board cut to all Medicare payments, known as sequestration, until the end of 2021; Support H.R. 2455, The Resetting the Impact Act (TRIA), a bill to amend the IMPACT Act of 2014 to reset data collection and the development of a payment system technical prototype for post-acute care providers under the Medicare program to take into account the effects of COVID-19; Support H.R. 3173/ S.3018, Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, and for other purposes; Support H.R. 1887, Rural Hospital Support Act, a bill to make permanent the Medicare Dependent Hospital (MDH) and Low-volume Adjustment programs and rebases the MDH and Sole Community Hospital programs; Support relief for Medicare advanced payments; Discussion with CMMI about the priorities for alternative payment models; Comment letter to CMS on the CY 2022 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule oppose the agencys deep OPPS payment cuts to 340B hospitals and other concerns; Letter to CMS administrator on the mid-build exception audit denials requesting the agency rescind the denials or, if not, establish an informal review process to correct errors in the audit determinations. Further requesting that hospitals be allowed extra time to identify and return any overpayments; Support HR 4587, Value in Health Care Act of 2021, a bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise certain regulations in relation to the Medicare shared savings program and other advanced alternative payment arrangements to encourage participation in such program, and for other purposes; Support HR 3746, Accountable Care in Rural America Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program; Support H.R. 5425/ S. 1988, Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to protect access to telehealth services under the Medicare program; Letter asking Congress to address two important issues by the end of the year: an extension of the moratorium on Medicare sequester cuts, as well as preventing the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) sequester from taking effect; Letter urging Congress to remove the reductions to the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program and uncompensated care pools from the Build Back Better Act; Support H.R. 5674/ S. 3061Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services under the Medicare Program.

Contacted: SENATE; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); White House Office; Labor, Dept of (DOL); Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Bills named: H.R. 5674 (117th), H.R. 3173 (117th), H.R. 315 (117th), S. 3018 (117th), H.R. 2455 (117th), H.R. 3746 (117th), H.R. 1868 (117th), H.R. 1887 (117th), H.R. 1332 (117th), S. 1988 (117th), H.R. 4587 (117th), S. 368 (117th), H.R. 5425 (117th)

Health Issues HCR

Support H.R. 526, Ensuring Coverage in Public Health Emergencies Act of 2021, a bill to provide for special enrollment periods during public health emergencies; Letter urging Congress to provide additional funds to the Provider Relief Fund and for vaccine distribution and administration, which will allow for continued support of hospitals' COVID-19-related lost revenues, as well as additional expenses incurred due to purchasing supplies and equipment, staffing, establishing emergency testing and vaccination centers and constructing and retrofitting facilities; Support H.R. 708 and S. 168, Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, a bill to provide temporary licensing reciprocity for telehealth and interstate health care treatment; Support H.R. 1306 and S. 412, National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021, a bill to establish the Commission on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States; Support S. 610/ H.R. 1667, Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a bill to address behavioral health and well-being among health care professionals; Support S. 773 a bill to enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to temporarily maintain eligibility for such program; Support S.834, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the distribution of additional residency positions; Oppose H.R. 1195, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a bill to direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires covered employers within the health care and social service industries to develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan and urge the Committee on Education and Labor not to report it favorably; Support S.924 and H.R. 2130, Rural America Health Corps Act, a bill to establish a demonstration program to provide payments on eligible loans for individuals who are eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program; Discussions with ASPR about COVID-19 related medical supply and personnel shortages; Discussions with FEMA about COVID-19 public assistance funding policies; Letter asking Congress to consider an infrastructure proposal that you prioritize hospital and health system needs to ensure our nations health care system is well positioned to meet the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead; Support S.1512/H.R. 2903, CONNECT for Health Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand access to telehealth services; Support H.R. 2255/ S 1024, Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, a bill to enhance our Nations nurse and physician workforce during the COVID-19 crisis by recapturing unused immigrant visas; Support S.1568, Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses (TRAIN) Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide a waiver of the cap on annual payments for nursing and allied health education payments; Support H.R. 3203, a bill to enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to temporarily maintain eligibility for such program, and for other purposes; Statement to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on "COVID-19 Part II: Evaluating the Medical Supply Chain and Pandemic Response Gaps" urges Congress to take steps to strengthen the nations medical supply chain; Statement to Senate Committee on Finance hearing on COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities: Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned stating that these flexibilities can continue to drive significant improvements in patient care long after the public health emergency (PHE) ends and given the beneficial impact of those specific flexibilities urges Congress and the Administration to make them permanent. In addition, a second group of flexibilities will remain critically important for some time following the PHE and will require a carefully crafted phase-out plan to ensure enough time is provided for a necessary transition. Without action from Congress and the Administration prior to the termination of the PHE, we are concerned that much of the progress made because of the implementation of many of these flexibilities may be unnecessarily halted or even lost; Letter urges Senate HELP Committee to consider recommendations and prioritize programs that support the health care workforce needs of the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future; Support H.R. 769/S. 1491, Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services Act or the Rural MOMS Act, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve obstetric care in rural areas; Support for S.1675/ H.R. 4387, Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act, a bill to improve maternal health; Support 1438, Opioid Workforce Act of 2021, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the distribution of additional residency positions to help combat the opioid crisis; Support HR 3441,Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the distribution of additional residency positions to help combat the substance use disorder crisis; Support S.1810 / H.R.3541, Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, a bill to provide incentives to physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities; Statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights for the hearing on Antitrust Applied: Hospital Consolidation Concerns and Solutions expressing that integration helps to ensure every community, whether rural, urban or suburban, has access to the same high standard of affordable, evidenced based care; discussions to ensure that H.R. 2547s limits on unfair practice under FDCPA for debt collectors does not inappropriately interfere with or restrict the ability of hospitals to be able to obtain payment for care provided; Support for revising/repealing changes to the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Program that reduced reimbursement for provider-based RHCs; Hill outreach expressing concerns with United Healths retroactive denial of coverage for emergency-level care in facilities; Hill outreach expressing concern about CMS mid-build audit denials; Senate outreach on prior authorization legislation; Urge support for legislation/administrative action to extend the deadline to use PRF money; Urged HRSA to ensure that the drug companies that denied 340B Statute appropriate discounts make the impacted hospitals whole for the benefit of the vulnerable communities they serve; Support S. 2304 Drug-Price Transparency for Competition Act of 2021 (DTC Act of 2021), a bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require that direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products include an appropriate disclosure of pricing information; Support S.246/H.R.851 Future Advancement of Academic Nursing Act or the FAAN Act, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to support schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure modernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, and for other purposes; Support S. 1568/HR 4407Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses Act or the TRAIN Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide a waiver of the cap on annual payments for nursing and allied health education payments; Comment letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommending the withdrawal of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for occupational exposure to COVID-19; Meeting with Department of Labor staff to discuss our concerns about the OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for occupational exposure to COVID-19; Discussion with ASPR staff overseeing the Strategic National Stockpile about their intent to procure supplies of surgical masks; Call with Senator Cassidys staff to discuss concerns about impact of FEMA COVID-19 funding of traveling nurse agencies on hospital nursing shortages; Oppose S 2428, False Claims Amendments Act of 2021A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to modify False Claims Act procedures, and for other purposes; Discussions about Provider Relief Fund - reporting on past disbursements and urging HHS to disburse remaining PRF money; Discussions about the challenges that teaching hospitals have with training the physician workforce, residency caps that limit funding for training programs, a shortage of residents pursuing primary care specialties, a growing patient pool due to the newly insured and aging of the population; Discussions about the hospital and health system priorities for infrastructure and reconciliation bills; Letter urging Congress to maintain the current legal and regulatory framework for evaluating mergers and acquisitions; Hill outreach to discuss the benefits of health care integration; Hill outreach about the negative impact of potentially anticompetitive conduct by nurse-staffing agencies; Support HR 5035/ S 2982Child Suicide Prevention and Lethal Means Safety Act.A bill to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to establish or expand programs to implement evidence-aligned practices in health care settings for the purpose of reducing the suicide rates of covered individuals, and for other purposes; Support H.R.5376 Build Back Better Act, this bill provides funding, establishes programs, and otherwise modifies provisions relating to a broad array of areas, including education, labor, child care, health care, taxes, immigration, and the environment; Discussions with members of congress about the implementation of Rural Emergency Hospital payment designation; Discussions on the No Surprises Act Implementation (surprise billing) and urging federal regulators to restore the independence of the independent dispute resolution process in the No Surprises Act Part 2 regulations; Support HR 5699 Student Assisted Vaccination Effort (SAVE) Act, a bill to expand the definition of qualified persons for purposes of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to include health professional students; Support S 2873Preventing and Addressing Trauma with Health Services Act (PATHS Act), a bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to establish or expand programs and activities to increase access to high-quality culturally competent trauma support and mental health care.

Contacted: Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); SENATE; Labor, Dept of (DOL); Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); White House Office; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bills named: H.R. 5699 (117th), S. 1810 (117th), H.R. 1195 (117th), H.R. 3541 (117th), H.R. 2255 (117th), S. 610 (117th), S. 1491 (117th), H.R. 2130 (117th), S. 1675 (117th), H.R. 526 (117th), S. 773 (117th), H.R. 708 (117th), S. 168 (117th), S. 2304 (117th), S. 246 (117th), H.R. 3441 (117th), H.R. 5376 (117th), S. 1512 (117th), S. 924 (117th), H.R. 3203 (117th), H.R. 851 (117th), H.R. 4387 (117th), S. 412 (117th), S. 1568 (117th), H.R. 4407 (117th), H.R. 769 (117th), H.R. 1306 (117th), H.R. 2903 (117th), H.R. 1667 (117th), H.R. 2547 (117th), S. 834 (117th), H.R. 5035 (117th)

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Support HR 1319, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses and more money for the Provider Relief Fund in the reconciliation bill, sequester relief, and advanced Medicare payment loan relief; Continue to monitor the FY 2021 budget to prevent or minimize hospital cuts; Urged the Senate to pass legislation that would stop Medicare cuts to hospitals, physicians and other providers from going into effect early next year. The bill would extend the moratorium on the 2% Medicare sequester cuts until April 1, 2022, reduce the cuts from 2% to 1% from April 1 through June 30, 2022, and stop the 4% statutory Pay-As-You-Go sequester from taking effect early next year. Other provisions in the package would mitigate a separate Medicare payment cut to physicians; delay payment cuts and private payer data reporting requirements for certain hospital laboratories; delay the implementation of the radiation oncology model; and set up a fast-track process in the Senate to allow for a vote to increase the debt limit.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); White House Office; Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA); Labor, Dept of (DOL); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); SENATE

Bills named: H.R. 1319 (117th)