HOUSE TO VOTE ON DOZENS OF OPIOID BILLS WHILE SENATE READIES COMPREHENSIVE MEASURE

The House this week will begin considering some of the 70 different opioid bills that have been approved by eight different committees, focusing on prescribing, enforcement, and Medicare and Medicaid coverage of treatment options.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced last week that several dozen noncontroversial bills will be considered either by voice vote or under expedited procedures that require supermajorities to pass but allow House leaders to move them quickly. Other bills – like relaxing health privacy rules for drug abuse treatment records and allowing Medicaid to cover in-patient drug rehab costs – will be debated on the House floor, with opportunities for amendments.

Bills receiving votes this week include establishing a new category of synthetic opioids and other drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, allowing low-income housing vouchers to be used to aid recovering addicts, and increasing the tracking of parcels and mail into the United States.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its proposed rules for the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2019. As discussed below, the proposed rule focuses on promoting interoperability to reduce administrative burdens, increase efficiency and improve patient access while providing high-quality patient care. Comments on the proposed rule are due June 25, 2018.

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Program Update

CMS proposed significant changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Programs. For starters, it renamed the program to Promoting Interoperability (PI) Programs to better reflect its focus on interoperability and improving patient access to health information. To maintain alignment across programs, CMS noted that the name change applies to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Advancing Care Information performance category.

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GOP LAWMAKERS: EUROPE, CANADA ‘FREE RIDING’ ON US DRUG INNOVATION

More than two dozen House Republicans last week called on President Donald Trump to leverage upcoming trade negotiations to stop other nations from “free riding” on U.S. pharmaceutical innovations.

In a letter to Trump, Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., wrote that foreign government price controls, market access barriers and theft of intellectual property undermine U.S. companies and place an unfair burden on American patients. The letter, which was signed by 27 House Republicans, singled out Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Canada as countries whose policies effectively force U.S. patients to shoulder a disproportionate share of research and development costs.

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In regulations published on April 16, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two new documents containing guidance primarily on the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and on the Medicare prescription drug benefit program. Taken together, these two documents – a finalized regulation outlining policy changes for Contract Year 2019 (Final Rule) and a 2019 Rate Announcement and Final Call Letter (Final Call Letter) – represent further steps by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory obstacles to better healthcare delivery, to address prescription drug issues, and to improve choices available to Medicare parts C and D plan enrollees. These Final Rules, with limited exceptions, will be applicable January 1, 2019.

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