Insight Entries

WHG - Weekly, December 9-13

Over the weekend, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee reached a compromise on surprise medical billing in the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S. 1895) – a modified version of the hybrid proposal advanced by E&C. It would establish a benchmark payment based on the median in-network rate, as well... Read More

(Llamas, 12/9/19) #Community Health Centers, #Food and Drug Administration, #Insurance Reform, #Prescription Drugs

WHG - Weekly, December 2-6

Congress returns for an end-of-year legislative sprint on prescription drug pricing, surprise medical billing and other health care policy priorities, which are all occurring as the impeachment effort wraps up in the House and begins to take shape in the Senate. Despite buying more time to negotiate a long-term spending deal, lawmakers have little to show ahead of the shutdown... Read More

(Llamas, 12/2/19) #Budget, #Insurance Reform, #Prescription Drugs, #Public Health

WHG - Candidates Continue to Discuss Medicare For All and Women’s Reproductive Rights at Fifth Democratic Presidential Primary Debate

On Thursday, November 20, candidates convened again for the fifth 2020 Democratic Presidential primary debate. Ten candidates qualified for the debate criteria, needing to have 165,000 unique donors and to have met one of two polling requirements: (1) two polls at 5 percent or more in the four early nominating states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina); or (2)... Read More

(Wynne Health Group, 11/21/19) #Women’s Health, #Medicare for All

WHG - Weekly, November 18-22

Lawmakers plan to punt the deadline to keep the government open through December 20 with a vote on a second continuing resolution later this week in order to avert the government shutdown scheduled for November 22. The White House is expected to sign the stopgap measure as members head out for the weeklong holiday break, leaving just a few weeks... Read More

(Llamas, 11/18/19) #Food and Drug Administration, #Insurance Reform, #Long-Term Care, #Prescription Drugs, #Public Health

WHG - Weekly, November 12-15

Congress faces a jam-packed to-do list with only 16 legislative days to negotiate a combination of policy priorities (drug pricing, surprise medical billing) and longstanding items (FY 2020 funding, DSH cuts, ACA taxes) as the first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry begin. Another stopgap measure, keeping the government open until December 13 or 20, is expected ahead of a... Read More

(Llamas, 11/12/19) #Food and Drug Administration, #Medicare Part D, #Prescription Drugs, #Public Health

WHG - Chart: Democratic Presidential Candidates' Proposals on Mental and Behavioral Health

We provide a side-by-side analysis of Democratic presidential candidates’ proposals on mental and behavioral health reform that have been released thus far. For each of the three candidates below, the chart examines their key provisions regarding insurance reform, delivery reform, public health and workforce initiatives, research, and the opioid crisis. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN); and Mayor... Read More

(Llamas, 10/25/19) #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Insurance Reform, #Public Health, #Delivery Reform

WHG - Chart: Democratic Presidential Candidates' Proposals on Rural Health

We provide a side-by-side analysis of Democratic presidential candidates’ proposals on rural health reform that have been released thus far. For each of the two candidates below, the chart examines their key provisions regarding insurance reform, delivery reform, anticompetitive behavior, workforce and capacity, telehealth, opioid crisis, and social determinants of health. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA); and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South... Read More

(Llamas, 10/25/19) #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Workforce, #Social Determinants of Health, #Delivery Reform

WHG - Chart: Democratic Presidential Candidates' Proposals on Maternal Health

We provide a side-by-side analysis of Democratic presidential candidates’ proposals on maternal health reform that have been released thus far. For each of the two candidates below, the chart examines their key provisions regarding Medicaid and CHIP and delivery reform. Sen. Kamala Harris (CA); and Sen. Cory Booker (NJ)... Read More

(Llamas, 10/25/19) #Pediatrics, #Women’s Health, #Ambulatory Surgical Centers, #Delivery Reform

WHG - Chart: Democratic Presidential Candidates' Proposals on Comprehensive Health Reform

We provide a side-by-side analysis of Democratic presidential candidates’ proposals on comprehensive health reform that have been released thus far. For each of the six candidates below, the chart examines their key provisions regarding plan implementation, enrollee eligibility, benefit design, cost sharing, balance billing, prescription drugs, implications for providers and private plans, and finance mechanisms. Vice President Joe Biden; Sen... Read More

(Llamas, 10/25/19) #Costs, #Hospitals, #Insurance Reform, #Physicians

WHG - Chart: One Year Implementation Update on SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act

Thursday, October 24, 2019, marked the one year anniversary of the passage into law of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act – the major federal legislative package addressing the opioid epidemic. In observance of the anniversary, the Wynne Health Group produced the attached chart capturing a section-by-section update on the... Read More

(Wynne Health, 10/24/19) #Food and Drug Administration, #Pharmacies, #Prescription Drugs, #Public Health, #Opioids

WHG - Weekly, October 21-25

House Democrats continue to press forward with the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) – on track for a floor vote by the end of the month – following concurrent markups of the drug pricing bill in Energy and Commerce (E&C) and Education and Labor (Ed & Labor) Committee. With only a month remaining until the continuing resolution expires,... Read More

(Llamas, 10/21/19) #Food and Drug Administration, #Insurance Reform, #Medicare Part D, #Prescription Drugs, #Public Health

WHG - At Fourth Democratic Presidential Primary Debate, Candidates Discuss Medicare For All, Gun Violence, Opioids, and Women's Health

On October 15, 2019, candidates convened yet again for the fourth 2020 Democratic Presidential primary debate. Twelve candidates met in Westerville, Ohio and discussed a range of issues, including the current impeachment inquiry, the potential addition of a wealth tax, foreign policy, and how to handle the emergence of monopolies in big tech. On health care specifically, candidates again discussed... Read More

(LaRosa, 10/16/19) #Public Option, #Women’s Health, #Opioids, #Medicare for All

WHG - Implementation Tracker for the President's Executive Order on Price, Quality, and Transparency

WHG has developed a chart that delineates the status of key regulatory implementation deadlines established in the President’s Executive Order (EO) on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare. The EO, issued on June 24, 2019 (WHG summary here), directs the Department of Health and Human Services, among other agencies, to pursue rulemaking and additional administrative actions aimed at... Read More

(Pahner & LaRosa, 10/14/19) #Cost-Sharing, #Costs, #Hospitals, #Transparency

WHG - Chart: Key Proposals on Drug Pricing; Negotiation, Inflation Rebates, Medicare Part D Redesign Discussed

We provide a side-by-side analysis of the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3), introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Democrats, and key provisions of relevant proposals: the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, advanced by the Senate Finance Committee (19-9) in July; and the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Medicare Program; International Pricing Index Model... Read More

(Llamas, 9/30/19) #Insurance Reform, #Medicare Part D, #Prescription Drugs

WHG - Memo: Hospital Price Transparency Proposals in the CY 2020 Hospital OPPS Proposed Rule

The attached memorandum provides a detailed overview of the proposed price transparency requirements included in the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule. Pursuant to a recent Executive Order, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) used the rule as a vehicle to advance regulatory changes designed to drive down hospital costs by making... Read More

(Wynne Health Group, 8/16/19) #Costs, #Hospitals, #Transparency

WHG - The Drug Pricing Debate Part II: The Many Acts of Congress

In a blog post featured on the Commonwealth Fund's To the Point, the Wynne Health Group sketches the current landscape of congressional drug pricing proposals and begins outlining what a final legislative package my look like. Specifically, the authors examine which measures have moved forward in the Senate, and cross-reference those with related measures advanced on the House side... Read More

(WHG, 7/30/19) #Costs, #Generic Drugs, #Medicare Part D, #Transparency, #Drug Pricing

WHG - Issue Brief: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in Federal Health Coverage Programs

In recent years, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has advanced toward a greater recognition of the social determinants of health in federal health coverage programs, via expanded non-clinical benefit offerings, meaningful quality measures and the like. As HHS continues along a trajectory of advancing value-based payment, opportunities persist to expand the focus on addressing non-health care needs... Read More

(Wynne Health, 7/19/19) #Waivers, #Social Determinants of Health, #Delivery Reform

WHG - Updated Chart: Key Legislation on Surprise Medical Billing

We provide an updated side-by-side analysis of the major Congressional (Senate and House) legislation intended to protect patients from surprise medical billing that have been introduced thus far in the 116th Congress. We added the No Surprises Act recently advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. For each of the four proposals outlined below, the chart examines... Read More

(Llamas, 7/18/19)

WHG - Highlights from Night Two of the Democratic Presidential Debate: Medicare for All Takes Center Stage Again, Along With Rx Drug Pricing, Women's Health, and More

On June 27, 2019, a second set of 10 candidates took the stage for what was part two of the first series of debates for the 2020 Democratic Presidential primaries. As with the first night, candidates answered questions spanning across many key policy topics, including climate change, gun safety, immigration, and foreign policy, among others. The conversation of course included... Read More

(WHG, 6/27/19) #Affordable Care Act, #Public Option, #Women’s Health, #Drug Pricing, #Medicare for All

WHG - Democratic Presidential Debate Highlights: Medicare for All, Rx Drug Pricing, Opioids and More

The first of this week’s two-part 2020 Democratic Presidential primary debate kicked-off tonight in Miami, FL, featuring 10 Democratic candidates (listed in our summary below). Initial questions focused on the national economy but quickly moved to other topics, including health care, immigration, foreign affairs (particularly focused on Iran), gun violence, and climate change. Tomorrow’s debate, also in Miami, will feature... Read More

(Pahner, 6/26/19) #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Women’s Health, #Opioids, #Delivery Reform