Insight Entries – Page 16

WHG - Issue Brief Providing an Overview of CMS' RFI on Pursuing a Competitive Acquisition Program-Type Model for Medicare Part B Drugs

Within its calendar year (CY) 2019 hospital outpatient prospective payment system proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) includes a Request for Information (RFI) on how to structure a Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP)-type model for Part B drugs through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Wynne Health Group has prepared an issue brief (attached) to... Read More

WHG - 2018 Midterm Elections Preview Issue Brief

The upcoming elections on Tuesday, Nov. 6 are the first midterms under President Donald Trump. With the entire U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the seats in the U.S. Senate on the ballot, the stakes for both parties are high. This document provides an overview of where key races stand currently, historical context, what experts are predicting could happen... Read More

WHG - Blog: ‘Public Charge’ Rule Would Disrupt Safety-Net Access for Some Immigrants

On the California Health Care Foundation’s Blog, Dawn Joyce and Billy Wynne unpack the Trump Administration’s plan to significantly alter the rule on eligibility of applicants for permanent residency in the US by redefining “public charge” determinations related to the use of public benefits... Read More

WHG - Issue Brief: The Part B Drug Competitive Acquisition Program

WHG has prepared an issue brief to provide background information on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare Part B Drug and Biological Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP). Although the program is no longer in operation, it has come under renewed attention as a component of the recently-announced American Patients First: The Trump Administration Blueprint to Reduce Drug Prices... Read More

WHG - Chart: Opioid Legislation Advanced in the House as of May 18

To conclude a busy few weeks of opioids-related action in Congress, the Wynne Health Group created a newly updated chart, which describes each of the bills addressing the opioid crisis that have been advanced to the House floor as of May 18, 2018. The bills reflected in the chart were advanced in three separate markup sessions in the House Energy... Read More

WHG - Slides Previewing the 2018 Mid-Term Elections

Wynne Health Group has prepared a preview of the 2018 mid-term elections. In a slide presentation, we include an overview of the current political landscape and the outlook for the November elections, including the road to congressional majorities for Democrats and Republicans. Six months out, we incorporate high-level expectations from RealClearPolitics and key race details from Cook Political Report, as... Read More

WHG - Chart: E&C Health Subcommittee Opioids Markup

On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health convened for a markup of 63 bills, most of which were previously considered in a series of three hearings looking at legislative solutions to the opioid epidemic. The attached chart provides a brief description of each with a record of how the subcommittee voted at the markup.The... Read More

WHG - Chart: House Opioid Legislation

Between February and April of 2018, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health convened a series of three legislative hearings on measures to combat the opioid crisis. At the first hearing on February 28, lawmakers reviewed eight bills designed to improve patient safety and bolster enforcement tools. The second hearing, held March 21 and 22, focused on various prevention... Read More

WHG - Side-by-Side of Veterans Choice Program Legislative Proposals

Ahead of anticipated Congressional deliberations resuming on legislation to overhaul and extend the Veterans Choice Program (VCP), we have prepared a side-by-side comparing key legislative proposals. The chart includes an analysis of the VA’s draft proposal issued last fall, as well as House and Senate VCP reform legislation – including nuanced competing proposals in the upper chamber. Following a failed attempt... Read More

WHG - Chart: Legislative Opioids Measures Considered at March 21-22 Energy & Commerce Hearing

On March 21 and 22, 2018 the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a two-day hearing titled, “Combating the Opioid Crisis: Prevention and Public Health Solutions.” The hearing included 19 witnesses divided across four panels and addressed 22 pieces of proposed or pending opioid-related legislation. For quick reference, we have consolidated the most relevant information about each bill... Read More

WHG - Issue Brief: An Examination of Key Healthcare Issues in the FY 2019 White House Budget Request

The White House released a $4.4 trillion Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget Request titled, “An American Budget.” To account for the recently-enacted two-year agreement to raise the budget caps, the Administration also issued an addendum accompanying the President’s Budget Request. The Budget would provide $68.4 billion in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – a roughly... Read More

WHG - Issue Brief: Health Provisions of the Budget Deal

Wynne Health Group has prepared an Issue Brief summarizing the Health and Human Services provisions of the bipartisan budget deal that extends government funding until March 23 and raises budget caps for two years, allowing the omnibus appropriations process to proceed. Early on Friday, February 9, the House passed the legislation 240-186 several hours after the Senate voting 71-28 to... Read More

WHG - Legislative and Regulatory Outlook 2018

Wynne Health Group has released its Legislative and Regulatory Outlook document for 2018. The document, updated for calendar year (CY) 2018, reflects a compendium of the significant healthcare regulations expected, as well as key Congressional dates and Administration-driven deadlines... Read More

WHG - Overview of Key Tax Reform Provisions

This slide deck covers the key components of tax reform of interest to health care organizations, tax-exempt entities, and basic elements of broader corporate and household tax reform... Read More

WHG - Issue Brief: Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers: The Current Landscape and the Waivers to Watch in 2018

Section 1115 of the Social Security Act grants states the authority to design and implement experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects to test new approaches in Medicaid which deviate from current federal program rules and regulations. Since the Medicaid program began in 1965, these waivers have enabled states to expand coverage, change delivery systems, implement managed care, alter benefits and cost... Read More

WHG - Tax Conference Preview: An Updated Look at the House and Senate Tax Reform Proposals

As a part of TRP Health Policy’s ongoing analysis of tax reform, we have updated our chart to reflect notable provisions in the tax reform bills passed by the respective chambers of Congress, including changes that have been made throughout the legislative process. Now that both chambers have passed their versions of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), lawmakers... Read More

WHG - Side-by-Side of House and Senate Tax Reform Proposals

It’s another crucial week for Congressional Republicans, as the majority party tries to expedite its major tax overhaul through both chambers of Congress in an effort to reform the tax code by the end of the year. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (H.R. 1) out of committee on a... Read More

WHG - Issue Brief: Section 1332 Waiver Activity in 2017 and Potential Legislative Reforms

Effective January 1, 2017, Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) permitted states to waive certain provisions of the law in order to pursue alternate strategies for providing access to health insurance in the individual and small group markets. However, potential changes to the Section 1332 waiver statute have been a central focus of the 2017 health reform debate,... Read More

WHG - Status Update on the Children’s Health Insurance Program

This past Saturday marked three weeks since federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired. In recent weeks, committees of jurisdiction in both the House and the Senate have advanced legislation to reauthorize the program for five years, though the process has stalled, primarily in the House, over partisan disagreement on how the package should be paid for... Read More

WHG - Health Policy: Update on Graham-Cassidy

With the House and Senate now in recess and Graham-Cassidy not yet dead, we thought it important to provide an update on the outlook for this and other healthcare legislation. Because the Graham-Cassidy “bubble” has not yet popped, we believe stakeholders have no choice but to address the process head on and express their positions on the legislation to lawmakers... Read More