AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION for AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace LBR

Supporting HJ Res 29 and SJ Res. 8 to nullify NLRBs expedited union elections rule; Opposing NLRBs change in standards for determining joint employer status.

Contacted: Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Food & Drug Administration (FDA); SENATE; Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bills named: H.J.Res. 29 (114th), S.J.Res. 8 (114th)

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX

Supporting clarification and further explanation in final regulations establishing 501(r) requirements for hospitals.

Contacted: Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); SENATE; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

Health Issues HCR

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in MedicareTelehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, a bill that is an important step toward easing the shortage of psychiatric beds in communities across the nation and revise the length of the emergency psychiatric demonstration project that is currently limited to three years; Support H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with members of congress; Working with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients; Discussion of the impact of FDA draft guidance on laboratory developed tests (LDTs); Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging.

Contacted: Federal Trade Commission (FTC); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Food & Drug Administration (FDA); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Internal Revenue Service (IRS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; SENATE

Bills named: H.R. 169 (114th), S. 599 (114th), H.R. 293 (114th), H.R. 1458 (114th)

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

HALO letter sent to Congress about the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) for physician payment; Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, which provide incentives and penalties to encourage meaningful use of EHRs by hospitals and physicians; Meaningful use flexibilityadvocate for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support HR 2, Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate and strengthen Medicare access by improving physician payments and making other improvements, to reauthorize the Childrens Health Insurance Program; Support HR 1470, SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to repeal the Medicare sustainable growth rate and improve Medicare payments for physicians and other professionals; Support S 629, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act, a bill to enable hospital-based nursing programs that are affiliated with a hospital to maintain payments under the Medicare program to hospitals for the costs of such programs; Oppose Recovery Audit Contracts (RACs)Section 3 that imposes financial penalties on RACs -- top ask given contingency fees are a no go; Support ICD-10 delay and advocate to maintain the Oct. 1, 2015 transition date for ICD-10; Discussions to oppose site neutral payments.

Contacted: Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Food & Drug Administration (FDA); SENATE; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bills named: H.R. 270 (114th), H.R. 663 (114th), H.R. 1470 (114th), H.R. 745 (114th), H.R. 2 (114th), H.R. 1611 (114th), H.R. 672 (114th), S. 688 (114th), H.R. 1343 (114th), S. 377 (114th)

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Support H.Con. Res. 27,S. Con. Res. 11, and H. Res. 163Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2016, Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025.

Contacted: Federal Trade Commission (FTC); Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Food & Drug Administration (FDA); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); SENATE; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bills named: H.Res. 163 (114th), H.Con.Res. 27 (114th), S.Con.Res. 11 (114th)

Law Enforcement/Crime/Criminal Justice LAW

Opposing OFFCPs exercise of federal subcontractor oversight and enforcement for hospitals receiving federal reimbursement for providing health care services; Outlining hospitals views of the barriers, obstacles to EHR interoperability; Supporting update of standards for antitrust examination of hospital mergers that includes assessment of future competitive benefits of the arrangement.

Contacted: Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Food & Drug Administration (FDA); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); SENATE; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES