On April 11, 2024, the Senate Finance Committee met to address declining doctors’ pay related to Medicare’s Physician Fee Schedule (“PFS”) and Medicare fee-for-service. Physician groups have estimated physicians “were...more
On May 17, the Senate Finance Committee released a long-awaited white paper describing its legislative effort focused on bolstering chronic care through physician payment. Following a committee hearing April 11, the white...more
On April 25, 2024, the attorneys general of 22 states issued a letter encouraging UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, to take additional steps to respond to a massively disruptive cyberattack. The broad,...more
The General Assembly’s marathon five-day week continued today with pro forma convenings of the House and Senate followed by an afternoon of assorted committee meetings. ...more
On December 17, 2019, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) reintroduced legislation to address the backlog of Medicare appeals cases awaiting review before an...more
On July 25, 2019 the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance their long-awaited drug pricing package to the Senate floor (we anticipate a Floor vote sometime this Fall). The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA)...more
Although adjournment Sine Die remains two weeks away, the end felt nearer under the Gold Dome today. As legislators and lobbyists shook out the cobwebs from St. Patrick’s Day weekend, end-of-session strategizing filled the...more
This week, Congressional oversight of prescription drug prices will continue with two hearings in the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which is led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA). The hearings will offer...more
• Based on a new review of nonprofit hospitals by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), a congressional investigation is expected that directly requests a number of specific hospitals to answer...more
On Friday, May 25, 2018, the Senate unanimously approved a $41.49 billion budget for FY2019. The Senate’s passage of its annual spending plan follows Governor Charlie Baker’s budget proposal made in January and the House...more
Congress returned from its spring recess with a host of issues to address—trade, Trump administration nominations and opioid legislation sitting atop the priority list. Given the ongoing data scandal at Facebook, privacy...more
On January 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary bundled-payment demonstration program, also known as Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Advanced. The new model will test...more
Act 188 Plans On Hold as New Chemical Bill is Introduced - Nearly three years after the legislature passed a law to regulate children’s products containing chemicals of high concern, a web site intended to inform the...more
The Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark law, prohibits a physician from referring federal health care program patients for “designated health services” to an entity in which the physician (or an immediate...more
At a July 12, 2016 hearing entitled “Examining the Stark Law: Current Issues and Opportunities,” members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee expressed openness to potentially significant amendments to the Stark Law aimed at...more
On June 30, 2016, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch released a white paper examining potential reforms to the Federal Stark law. The white paper, entitled “Why Stark, Why Now? Suggestions to Improve the Stark...more
In early December of last year, Orrin Hatch (Senate Finance Committee Chairman, R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Audit and Appeals Fairness, Integrity, and Reforms in Medicare Act of 2015 (AFFIRM Act). The purpose of...more