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Congressional:
Chair Rodgers Unveils Framework for NIH Reform, Requests Stakeholder Input
Late last week on Friday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) unveiled a framework that lays out the current challenges facing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and recommendations for reform. The plan includes restructuring NIH’s 27 institutes and centers into 15 groups, including splitting the NIH in half; term limits for institute and center leadership; additional disclosure and transparency requirements; and a congressionally mandated commission to review NIH’s performance, mission, objectives, and programs. Rodgers also released a joint opinion piece with House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL), on why the reform is needed and asks for feedback from the NIH and stakeholders over the next few months. Read the press release here and the framework here.
Ranking Member Cassidy, Colleagues Request Audit of Safety Standards at Fertility Clinics
On Thursday, Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) requested the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conduct an audit of safety standards at fertility clinics. The senators are also requesting information about how the federal government collects and publishes data on fertility clinics. Read the press release and letter here.
Notable Bills Introduced:
Wyden, Senate Democrats Release Legislation to Stop Labor and Delivery Unit Closures in Rural and Underserved Communities
On Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 15 Senate Democrats released draft legislation to address a rising trend of rural hospitals and hospitals in underserved areas closing labor and delivery units. The proposal, titled the Keep Obstetrics Local Act (KOLA), would increase Medicaid payment rates for labor and delivery services for eligible rural and high-need urban hospitals, provide “standby” payments to cover the costs of staffing and maintaining an obstetrics unit at low-volume hospitals, create low-volume payment adjustments for labor and delivery services at hospitals with low birth volumes and require all states to provide postpartum coverage for women in Medicaid for 12 months, among other steps. Read the press release here, the section-by-section here, and the bill here.
Casey, Mullin Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Spur Development of New Drugs to Treat Rare Childhood Diseases
On Thursday, Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families, and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), member of the Subcommittee, introduced the Creating Hope Reauthorization Act to incentivize pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs to treat rare diseases affecting children, including childhood cancer. The bipartisan legislation would extend the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher (PRV) program, which incentivizes drugmakers to create these novel treatments by awarding priority review vouchers to sponsors with qualifying rare disease treatments, which can then be transferred or sold for use for another product. Read the press release here and the bill summary here.
Sens. Kelly, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
On Tuesday, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Saving Us from Pandemic Era Resistance by Building a Unified Global Strategy (SUPER BUGS) Act of 2024, a bipartisan, bicameral bill to address the growing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) by promoting international collaboration and investment in the development of new antimicrobial therapeutics, diagnostics, and treatments. Reps. Mike Levin (D-CA-49) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA-3) introduced the companion bill in the House. Read the press release here and the bill here.
Sen. Braun Introduces Four Bills Highlighting Priorities for The Older American Act
On Tuesday, Senator Braun (R-IN), Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced four bills highlighting his priorities for the Older Americans Act (OAA) reauthorization, which will expire on September 30, 2024. The bills address long-term care programs, nutrition programs, national resource centers, and disease prevention and wellness programs for seniors.
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The Long-Term Care Transparency Act with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, aims to increase transparency by requiring the Administration on Aging to collect and report findings by States’ Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman programs to Congress. States’ LTC Ombudsman programs resolve problems related to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of people living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other residential care settings.
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The Innovative Nutrition for Seniors Act with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) would increase local flexibility to improve the reach of nutrition services under OAA.
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The Evidence-Informed Health Promotion Act would allow health and wellness programs to be evidence-informed to expand the reach of services, particularly for seniors living in rural areas.
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The Senior Center Transparency Act aims to increase transparency and give policymakers more information on how resource centers are serving older Americans.
Read the press release here.
Executive Branch:
CMS Recalculates Medicare Advantage Star Ratings
Late last week, on June 13, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a memo that they are recalculating plans’ quality ratings in the Medicare Advantage program after a series of court rulings challenging the agency’s methodology in determining scores for 2024. In the memo, CMS wrote that regulators will recalculate each plan's star ratings but only officially apply them if their stars improve. The updated ratings will determine bonus payments for Medicare Advantage plans for 2025. Plans with ratings that would fall under the new methodology will not see their ratings change. Read the memo here.
White House Officials Indicate New Cyber Rules for Health Care Sector Coming Within Weeks
During a cybersecurity conference on Tuesday, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger stated that the Biden administration aims to publish new security mandates for U.S. hospitals and health care organizations “in the next few weeks.” She added they are “working on a rule related to minimum cybersecurity practices for hospitals.”
HHS to End Medicare Pay Program After Change Healthcare Breach
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that payments under the Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Program for the Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption (CHOPD) will conclude on July 12, 2024. The program, which was initiated in early March, provided more than $2.5 billion in accelerated Medicare payments to over 4,200 hospitals. Another 4,722 CHOPD advance payments, totaling more than $717 million, went to Medicare “Part B” suppliers, including doctors, non-physician practitioners, and durable medical equipment suppliers. CMS has directed providers or suppliers with continuing difficulty billing or receiving payment to contact Change Healthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group, or their Medicare Administrative Contractor. Read the press release here.
Legal & Other:
Judge Rules HHS Overstepped with Web Tracking Guidance
On Thursday, North Texas U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman ruled that federal guidance limiting hospital websites’ use of third-party website trackers to gather details about visitors’ online behavior exceeds the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department’s authority under HIPAA. The American Hospital Association sued the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) last year shortly after OCR published a bulletin restricting the use of free tracking technologies, including those offered by Google and Meta. The industry association argued that OCR’s attempts to regulate these tools exceed its authority and could cause harm to hospitals and their online visitors by depriving them of relevant and accurate information, including translation services and digital maps. HHS argued that it was restating existing policy in a new context and that the guidance was not binding. Read the ruling here.
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