Articles and Blogs

Lawmakers Seriously Pursuing “Surprise Medical Bill” Fix Continuing the bipartisan interest in addressing the issue of surprise medical billing, also known as balance billing, a group of bipartisan senators led by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced legislation on Thursday. The legislation states that providers would be prohibited from balance billing... READ MORE

Addressing “Surprise” Medical Bills High Priority for Administration and Congress Yesterday, President Trump held an address at the White House where he emphasized that Congress should act to “hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable” for surprise medical bills. A surprise medical bill, more commonly known as balance billing, occurs when patients, through no... READ MORE

Congressional Leaders Discuss Health Care Priorities Congress’ top leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), announced they are not embracing “Medicare for All” as a priority at the American Hospital Association’s annual Washington conference. Both leaders reinforced that each chamber will pursue largely separate health care agendas in... READ MORE

Health Cost Reduction Package Slated for Summer Release Speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee, said he plans to move a wide-ranging legislative package through his panel seeking to curb health care costs. Sen. Alexander, along with HELP ranking member... READ MORE

It’s no April Fools’ joke. On April 1, 2019, the Health Resources & Services Administration Office of Pharmacy Affairs (“HRSA”) unveiled a long-awaited website that gives providers participating in the 340B drug pricing program (“340B Program”) direct access to information about the maximum amounts that pharmaceutical companies may charge for certain drugs. This moves... READ MORE

Conversation Shifts Back to Health Care in Washington Health care became a major discussion point for lawmakers after this week started with the Trump administration’s declaration that it supports a federal judge’s ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) should be thrown out. This signals a shift in the Justice Department’s prior position... READ MORE

Health care providers are increasingly relying on technology to market, communicate with and otherwise provide services to their community, such as information about services provided on the website, patient portals, check-in kiosks and mobile applications. In using technology to communicate with patients and the larger community, it is important to remember the importance of... READ MORE

Senate Lays Groundwork for Pricing Transparency Legislation A bipartisan group of senators continue to lay the groundwork for the introduction of pricing transparency legislation. On February 5, the senators released a letter seeking information from stakeholders as they prepare to introduce legislation that builds on draft legislation from last Congress. The effort is being... READ MORE

Congress Unlikely to Make Progress on Health Care Bills Before Year-End  As government funding battles overtake Capitol Hill, it appears Congress will not use the lame duck to resolve outstanding health care issues. While the desire to steer clear of health care fights is something different from prior years, outgoing House Ways and Means... READ MORE

Democrats Set to Control Key Health Committees in Next Session of Congress The Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives following the recent midterm elections will significantly change the political landscape for health care issues when lawmakers return for the 116th Session of Congress next year. Overall, the election results will mean divided government... READ MORE