Reconciliation Bill Already Creating Anxiety In Senate
As the House budget reconciliation bill moves to the Senate, signs are appearing already of a deep ideological divide over the bill. At least two conservatives, Rand Paul, R-KY, and Ron Johnson, R-WI, have questioned whether they will vote for the bill – Paul due to the debt limit provision and Johnson because of too few spending cuts and surging debt.
At the same time, moderates and pragmatic conservatives are pushing for Medicaid reductions to be rolled back. Both Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, and Josh Hawley, R-MO, want Medicaid changes. Susan Collins, R-ME, has also weighed in on Medicaid in the past. There are others, too, who are concerned.
As such, the Senate has too few votes to pass the House version due to opponents on each side.
See my blog today for more details: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/the-budget-rollercoaster-reconciliation-advances-but-big-debate-looms-in-senate/ .
In other news, a Modern Healthcare article outlines all the final Medicaid changes.
Further, another article discusses the possibility but no probability of Medicare sequestration cuts.
Additional articles: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-medicare-pbms and https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/will-trumps-tax-bill-cut-medicare-500b-not-exactly and https://thehill.com/business/budget/5314997-ron-johnson-criticizes-house-gop-bill-says-trump-cant-pressure-him-same-as-house-hardliners/?tbref=hp and https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5314189-rand-paul-house-gop-budget-bill/?tbref=hp
(Some articles may require a subscription.)
#budgetreconciliation #congress #trump #medicaid #spending #coverage
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/senators-promise-changes-medicaid-cutting-tax-bill
New Guidance On Hospital Transparency
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance on requirements from a Trump executive order to expand price transparency in hospital filings. The new guidance requires hospitals to post the actual prices of its products and services, rather than estimates. Further, it requires hospitals to include a “standard charge dollar amount” in its machine-readable files whenever possible, including gross charges, cash prices, payer-specific negotiated rates, and any minimum negotiated charges — the lowest charge a hospital can negotiate for products and services across all payers.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#transparency #hospitals
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/policy/hospital-price-transparency-cms
ACO Benchmarks Changed
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will revise Medicare accountable care organization (ACOs) benchmarks and risk-adjustment formulas for ACO Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health, or ACO REACH. The changes are due to findings that gross savings are rising even though the alternative payment model remains costlier than the standard Medicare payment system.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#acos #medicare #cms #quality
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/policy/aco-reach-risk-adjustment-cms-2026
FDA May Streamline Biosimilar Approval
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary signaled his support to streamline the approval and uptake of biosimilar drugs, including reconsideration of removing the controversial “interchangeability” designation. The biosimilar industry says current rules on seeking interchangeability approval has hindered competition and kept drug prices high.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#biosimilars #drugpricing #fda
Trump Says MFN Will Cause Major Drop In Drug Prices
President Trump claimed his recent most-favored-nation drug price executive order could cause U.S. drug prices to “drop like a rock” in just a matter of weeks. While I support the proposal, there are certainly legal and administrative impediments. See my blog on the topic here: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/trump-goes-all-out-on-drug-price-reform/ .
#irp #mfn #drugpricing #branddrugmakers #trump
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5314981-trump-executive-order-prescription-drug-prices
— Marc S. Ryan
