Shortly after House passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), it quickly became clear that the Senate plans to chart their own path forward on healthcare reform – rather than moving to advance the version drafted in the lower chamber. “We’ll be informed by what the House did,” HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said. “But we’ll write a... Read More
Impact Health - Congressional Leaders Agree to $1.07 Trillion FY17 CR; Funding Boosts for NIH, Opioid Abuse
After weeks of negotiations, an agreement on funding the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 was struck last night. The $1.07 trillion continuing resolution (CR) does not provide funding for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border or eliminate money for Planned Parenthood or so-called sanctuary cities – issues that were previously key sticking points for... Read More
Impact Health - GOP Leaders Release Updated ACA Repeal Plan; Fate Still Uncertain
House Republican leaders released an updated plan to revive the American Health Care Act (AHCA) (H.R. 1628). As reported by Politico, the White House is optimistic that these latest changes to the stalled AHCA – put forward in the amendment by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), co-chair of the moderate Tuesday Group – will serve as the impetus to secure the roughly 15-20 additional House Freedom Caucus... Read More
Impact Health - TRP Health Policy Issue Brief: Status Update on Drug Pricing and Transparency Legislation
TRP Health Policy has prepared an issue brief that provides background and a status update on drug pricing and transparency legislation. Topics include Medicare Part D price negotiation, drug importation, price transparency and PBM transparency, among others... Read More
Impact Health - Issue Brief: MedPAC's Part B Drug Pricing Proposals
TRP Health Policy has prepared an issue brief dedicated to MedPAC’s recent recommendations to revise Part B reimbursement. The recommendations were approved by the Commission during an April 6, 2017, meeting and will appear in MedPAC’s June 2017 report to Congress... Read More
Impact Health - Issue Brief on What's Next: Administrative Actions on ACA Following AHCA's Demise
TRP Health Policy has prepared an issue brief on “what’s next” in terms of the Trump Administration’s regulatory actions addressing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the wake of the American Health Care Act’s demise. The brief explores potential next steps for the Administration in addressing the ACA through its broad regulatory authority. This includes proactive issuance of notice-and-comment rulemaking and subregulatory... Read More
Impact Health - Issue Brief: Overview of Telemedicine Policy and Reimbursement
In light of recent federal developments on the telemedicine front – including provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act – TRP Health Policy explores the reimbursement and regulatory landscape for telemedicine services. We begin with a brief definition of telemedicine, in contrast to broader telehealth services (sec. II), before outlining how government and private payers reimburse providers for certain telemedicine services... Read More
Impact Health - Side By Side Comparison: Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) and Drug Value Program (DVP)
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is expected to vote later this week on a series of Medicare Part B reform recommendations. One component of these recommendations will be to implement a Drug Value Program (DVP), a market-oriented alternative to the current average sales price (ASP) system. Ahead of that session, we wanted to share a side-by-side comparison of key... Read More
Impact Health - State Innovation Waivers: The Next Avenue for Health Reform
TRP Health Policy has prepared an Issue Brief offering an overview of Section 1332 and 1115 State Innovation Waivers, both of which offer the opportunity for innovative health reforms on the state level – and are of expressed interest to entities on both sides of the aisle. The Trump Administration has indicated that it intends to vigorously leverage regulatory authority to... Read More
Impact Health - Outline of Likely 2017 CHIP & Medicare Extenders Package
As Congress moves on from the American Health Care Act, the next major health policy item on its agenda -- in addition to reauthorizing FDA user fees -- is reauthorization of CHIP funding and the Medicare extenders expected to travel with the CHIP package. TRP Health Policy has prepared a chart of provisions that will potentially be included in a CHIP and... Read More
Impact Health - Whip Count: Senate GOP Positions on AHCA
A thorough review of public statements and other materials reveals sharp divisions among Senate Republicans on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – a plan being considered in the House to repeal and replace major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While passage in the House is still very uncertain, the wide divisions in the Senate are particularly notable,... Read More
Impact Health - Slide Deck on American Health Care Act
TRP Health Policy has prepared a slide deck providing an overview of the House ACA “repeal and replace” legislation. We hope this is a helpful encapsulation of the bill and the process ahead... Read More
Impact Health - TRP Health Policy: Biosimilars Implementation Background Brief
TRP Health Policy has prepared a background brief regarding the status of the FDA’s efforts to implement the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BCPIA). The new brief includes information about draft and final guidance documents issued at the end of the Obama Administration and the status of the biosimilar case Amgen v. Sandoz, which will be heard by the Supreme... Read More
Impact Health - TRP Health Policy: Slides on 21st Century Cures
TRP Health Policy has prepared a slide presentation highlighting key provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act, which was enacted in late 2016 following overwhelming passage in the House and Senate. The slides highlight FDA provisions, NIH funding, cancer moonshot issues, mental health reforms, hospital provisions, and CBO-scored savings. We also describe the Continuing Resolution's appropriation of year-one funding for Cures-authorized priorities... Read More
Impact Health - House Conservatives Push For 'Repeal' Before 'Replace'
House Conservatives – led by both the House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee (RSC) – are rolling out a new tack on repealing and replacing the ACA that threatens to splinter the fragile House Republican Caucus and could throw a wrench in GOP leadership’s attempts to appease both moderate and conservative Members... Read More
Impact Health - TRP Health Policy: The Latest on Repeal & Replace
While the final outcome of efforts to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and potentially replace them to some degree is still very much in question, we wanted to provide some brief intelligence and analysis regarding the state of play. First, many questions have arisen about role the Cassidy-Collins bill will truly play in the process. It is important... Read More
Impact Health - Legislative and Regulatory Outlook for 2017
TRP Health Policy has prepared a compendium of the significant healthcare regulations expected in 2017, as well as key Congressional dates and Administrative deadlines... Read More
Impact Health - Trump's Cabinet Selections - Committee Hearing Tracker (Updated)
Thorn Run has prepared a breakdown of the most significant nominations, the respective Senate committees of jurisdiction, and known hearing dates... Read More
Impact Health - TRP Health Policy Special Report: Status Update on ACA Repeal and Replace
After six years of campaigning to repeal the ACA and over 50 votes held to undercut the law, Republicans are finally be positioned to deliver on their long-held position that President Obama’s healthcare law should be repealed as expeditiously as possible. But without a concrete replacement plan in place, Republicans remain at a crossroads over what set of policies should... Read More
Impact Health - Updated: Side-by-Side of Republican ACA Replacement Plans
Due to the ongoing debate over ACA repeal, TRP Health Policy has prepared a side-by-side comparison of leading Republican proposals to replace key elements of the law. There are a number of common themes in these plans that we can safely anticipate will be central to the debate this year. 2.8.17 - We have recently-updated a version of our side-by-side analysis of... Read More