On May 18, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017 (S. 870). The bipartisan bill aims to modernize care management, coordination and quality outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions. The bill would expand Medicare's Independence at Home program to provide additional home care options; create more flexibility for Medicare Advantage value-based insurance designs, special needs plans and supplemental benefits; increase provider-patient coordination within Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs); and provide additional Medicare and Medicare Advantage coverage for telehealth services.
First introduced in the 114th Congress in December 2016 and then reintroduced in the 115th Congress on April 6, 2017, the CHRONIC Care Act was developed by the bipartisan Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care Working Group following two years of collaborative effort – including congressional hearings, public requests for stakeholder input and public review of policy options. Several previous policy recommendations issued by the Working Group have already been adopted by CMS or enacted by Congress through the 21st Century Cures Act.
Takeaway: It remains unclear when the CHRONIC Care Act will reach the Senate floor or how the House will proceed on this issue. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) have both emphasized the need for a bipartisan process behind the chronic care bill, including keeping it free of ACA-related provisions to increase the likelihood of passage.
