Several healthcare provisions, including drug reforms, were left out of the government funding bill, angering some healthcare leaders.
\nThe post Healthcare Leaders Slam Exclusion Of Key Healthcare Provisions In Spending Package appeared first on Above the Law.<\/p>\n
Those hoping for meaningful drug pricing and prior authorization reform this holiday season received a lump of coal instead.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed a narrower spending bill that avoided a government shutdown but left out several healthcare provisions that were included in the original bill<\/a>. The original was opposed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump, who argued that it included government waste, according to the Washington Post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of this, drug pricing reform became \u201ccollateral damage\u201d and was part of the healthcare provisions that were excluded in the new bill, advocacy organization Patients for Affordable Drugs Now said in an announcement. The reforms cut out from the package included:<\/p>\n \u201cThese critical reforms had strong bipartisan support, saved taxpayers billions of dollars, and would have delivered real relief for patients,\u201d said Merith Basey, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in a statement. \u201cLeaving these bills out of the end-of-year package means that Americans will continue to pay the highest drug prices in the world. Regrettably, politics and powerful outside interests took precedence over the needs of patients.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization added that excluding these measures means the next chance to pass them won\u2019t be until the next Congress, delaying relief for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n Drug pricing reform wasn\u2019t the only healthcare provision left out of the updated spending bill. Prior authorization reform also didn\u2019t make it in the final package, as well as a provision to address declining reimbursement rates for Medicare. This was blasted<\/a> by the American Medical Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCongress heads home today leaving in place a 2.83% cut for doctors,\u201d said Bruce A. Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association, in a statement. \u201cIt did not provide a rational permanent, inflation-based update as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended. It didn\u2019t even offer doctors a Band-Aid in the form of a cut reduction, as the cost of delivering care rises 3.5% next year.\u201d<\/p>\n The new spending bill also provided shorter extensions for Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Both of these provisions are extended through March 31, 2025. The original bill included a two-year extension of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities and a 5-year extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.<\/p>\n\n