Save Rural Hospitals Act

Healthcare Price Transparency Rules for Hospitals 340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) June 26 passed the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 (S.1895) Congress should act now to delay the Medicaid DSH cuts that are scheduled to go into effect Nov. 22.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Healthcare Price Transparency Rules for Hospitals 340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) June 26 passed the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 (S.1895) Congress should act now to delay the Medicaid DSH cuts that are scheduled to go into effect Nov. 22.

Healthcare Price Transparency Rules for Hospitals 340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes

Healthcare Price Transparency Rules for Hospitals 340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes

Healthcare Price Transparency Rules for Hospitals 340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.

340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.

340B Medicare DSH Medicare Physician Payment (MACRA) H.R. 365 The Primary Care Enhancement Act S. 898/H.R. 2141 Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act S. 1130 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Outreach and monitoring related to health, Medicaid and Medicare issues. H.R. 277, American Health Care Reform Act of 2017. H.R. 3225, Save Rural Hospitals Act.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Outreach and monitoring related to health, Medicaid and Medicare issues. H.R. 277, American Health Care Reform Act of 2017. H.R. 3225, Save Rural Hospitals Act.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) H.R. 4392 To provide that the provision of the Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs final regulation relating to changes in the payment amount for certain drugs and biologicals purchased under the 340B drug discount program shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA)

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016 H.R. 1628 Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA)

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act H.R 1628: American Health Care Act S. 872 / H.R. 1955: Rural Hospital Access Act S. 377: Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention and Reform Act H.R. 1156: Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 H.R. 2: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2016

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Health Care Reform bills Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 3225 American Health Care Act H.R. 1628 340B Drug Pricing Program

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Health Care Reform bills Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 3225 American Health Care Act H.R. 1628 340B Drug Pricing Program

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

- Corresponded with members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding a Missouri Hospital Association initiative to promote regulatory reform. Topics included the formula used to calculate Medicare DSH payments, accreditation of sleep laboratories under the Medicare program, Medicaid DSH audit litigation, and changes to the Medicare wage index formula. - Corresponded with members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the American Health Care Act, with focus on components of the legislation that provide direct benefits to states that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act in comparison to direct benefits to states that did not expand Medicaid eligibility. - Corresponded with members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the American Health Care Act, with focus on the state and district-specific effects on coverage of repealing the health care "marketplace" authorized by the Affordable Care Act. - Conversed with an intern in the office of a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding health policy. - Corresponded with the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the state and district-specific implications of repealing the payment components of Title III of the Affordable Care Act. - Conversed with staff of selected members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding a regulatory reform initiative of the Missouri Hospital Association. - Corresponded with members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding a joint letter with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry regarding legislation to repeal/replace components of the Affordable Care Act. - Corresponded with members of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding research done by an MHA subsidiary regarding the effects of opioid addiction. - Responded to a request for comment from a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225). - Corresponded with a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding logistics of visits with representatives of Missouri hospitals. - Corresponded with a staffer for a Missouri congressman who is leaving federal employment. - Corresponded with a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act and its implications for hospitals. - Responded to a request from a congressional office to send a list of rural hospitals.

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule.

Plans for repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act and its impacts to access to care and payments to hospitals, specifically cuts to hospital payments under the ACA that allowed for greater coverage for individuals Revised 21st Century Cures bill (includes the hospital provisions, including demo project and direct supervision of outpatient therapies for 2016) Regulatory reform for hospitals including many of the issues addressed in the following legislation: Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Direct Supervision 2016 Extension of Moratorium (S.3129/H.R. 5613); and H.R. 5614 for permanent moratorium Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 5164) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016 (H.R. 5273) Implementation of MACRA Concerns with implementation of Sec. 603 site-neutral reductions to Iowa hospitals and the CMS interpretation of the legislation in the outpatient prospective payment system proposed rule Concern with Hospital star ratings, and Hospital Quality Rating Transparency Act of 2016 (HR 5927) Iowa's proposed state plan amendment to incorporate intergovernmental transfers Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid managed care MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals Changes to the definition of patient in the 340B guidance and impact on Iowa hospitals Hospital outpatient department grandfathering provision to include currently planned facilities and acquisitions at time of enactment of H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (covered in revised and passed 21st Century Cures bill)

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act H.R. 34: 21st Century Cures Act H.R. 3298: Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing Act

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Direct Supervision 2016 Extension of Moratorium (S.3129/H.R. 5613); and H.R. 5614 for permanent moratorium Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 5164) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016 (H.R. 5273) Proposed rule on implementation of MACRA Proposed FY2017 Hospice Wage Index Comments regarding the HHS budget proposal to change payment of CAH from 101% to 100% of costs Concerns with implementation of Sec. 603 site-neutral reductions to Iowa hospitals and the CMS interpretation of the legislation in the outpatient prospective payment system proposed rule Concern with Hospital star ratings, and Hospital Quality Rating Transparency Act of 2016 (HR 5927) Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid managed care Medicare reduction proposals in President Obama's budget released 2015 MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals Changes to the definition of patient in the 340B guidance and impact on Iowa hospitals Extension of sequestration against Medicare and the inclusion of the "site neutral" hospital outpatient department payment change in H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Hospital outpatient department grandfathering provision to include currently planned facilities and acquisitions at time of enactment of H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Concerns about processing and preauthorization, access to care issues with the Veteran's Choice program.

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169 / S. 258: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act S. 3435: Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2016 H.R. 5406: Helping Ensure Accountability, Leadership, and Trust in Tribal Healthcare Act

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Direct Supervision 2016 Extension of Moratorium (S.3129/H.R. 5613) Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 5164) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Proposed rule on implementation of MACRA Proposed FY2017 Hospice Wage Index Comments regarding the HHS budget proposal to change payment of CAH from 101% to 100% of costs Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid managed care Medicare reduction proposals in President Obama's budget released 2015 MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals sustainable growth rate fix and impact on hospitals in Iowa Meaningful use in EHR Changes to the definition of patient in the 340B guidance and impact on Iowa hospitals Extension of sequestration against Medicare and the inclusion of the "site neutral" hospital outpatient department payment change in H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Clarifying amendment to hospital outpatient department grandfathering provision to include currently planned facilities and acquisitions at time of enactment of H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Concerns about processing and preauthorization, access to care issues with the Veteran's Choice program.

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule.

Provided education to Members of Congress and their staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Provided data to Members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff on the number of uninsured individuals in each district and statewide. Provided information on the uncompensated care burden in the state and how that impacts the 1115 waiver renewal as well as the safety net in the state. Provided education to members of Congress and their staff about the importance of adequate funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program. Worked with members of Congress and staff on proposals for combating the Zika virus and encouraged adequate funding of these plans. H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 - Would make a variety of sweeping changes to the mental health infrastructure and while also reforming provider outreach, community-based treatment options, and justice system reform. - Discussed with staff how THA support the overall direction this bill would take the mental health system, and encouraged the use of community care in reforming the way we address mental health issues. Encouraged congressional staff to approve the bill, but expressed concern for lack of funding. Without adequate funding, states cannot properly implement the programs in the legislation. S.524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) - wound enact policies intended to re-engineer how health care providers, communities and the criminal justice system coordinates care to treat addiction. - Expressed support for the overall goals of the bill and the programs to be established by the legislation, but THA is concerned with the lack of funding in the legislation. Without funding, states and localities cannot adequately address and combat the opioid addiction crisis. H.R.5273 - Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016 - Would provide some relief to hospitals in site-neutral payments, readmissions adjustments and other polices. Discussed with congressional staff about the bills limited impact to Texas hospitals in relation to hospital outpatient departments. Encouraged additional work in the Senate to help a broader range of hospitals who had their payment structure changed without notice. H.R.2745 - Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act of 2015 - Would standardize the merger review process for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Met with congressional staff on how the merger review process impacts hospital mergers and how this legislation would eliminate disparities between the two reviewing agencies. H.R. 2124, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act -- Would prevent a looming doctor shortage by ensuring additional residency slots are available for teaching hospitals. Educated members of congress and staff on Graduate Medical Education and why we must increase residency slots to meet the growing demand by medical students and to help counteract the ever-growing physician shortage . Teaching hospitals and academic medical centers rely on support from the GME program to fulfill their mission of training physicians for the public good, furnishing highly-specialized care to the most medically complex patients, and delivering essential health care services to the community. H.R.4428 - Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016 - would establish a national minimum of 0.874 for the Medicare Area Wage Index for Hospital Inpatient Services (Medicare Part A) and the Medicare Area Wage Adjustment Factor for Hospital Outpatient Department Services (Medicare Part B). Discussed with congressional staff the importance of leveling the Area Wage Index playing field for hospitals across the nation. Dozens of hospitals in Texas are negatively impacted by low AWI. While he AWI is designed so the average AWI is 1.0, Texas does not contain a single CBSA with an AWI at 1.0 or greater. H.R. 3119 - Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act - Would authorize grants to improve the training of health professionals in palliative care. H.R.1343/S.688 - Would require CMS to take into account patients' sociodemographic status when imposing financial penalties for excessive hospital readmissions for Medicare patients. - Met with congressional staff on how socioeconomic status impacts health and the importance of this legislation, especially to large safety net hospitals. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225.

Provided education to Members of Congress and their staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Provided data to Members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff on the number of uninsured individuals in each district and statewide. Provided information on the uncompensated care burden in the state and how that impacts the 1115 waiver renewal as well as the safety net in the state. Discussed with members of Congress and staff the implications, concerns with and the misguided policies in the proposed rule to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. H.R.5273 - Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016 - Would provide some relief to hospitals in site-neutral payments, readmissions adjustments and other polices. Discussed with congressional staff about the bills limited impact to Texas hospitals in relation to hospital outpatient departments. Encouraged additional work in the Senate to help a broader range of hospitals that had their payment structure changed without notice. H.R.4428 - Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016 - would establish a national minimum of 0.874 for the Medicare Area Wage Index for Hospital Inpatient Services (Medicare Part A) and the Medicare Area Wage Adjustment Factor for Hospital Outpatient Department Services (Medicare Part B). Discussed with congressional staff the importance of leveling the Area Wage Index playing field for hospitals across the nation. Dozens of hospitals in Texas are negatively impacted by low AWI. While he AWI is designed so the average AWI is 1.0, Texas does not contain a single CBSA with an AWI at 1.0 or greater. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. H.R. 2124, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act -- Would prevent a looming doctor shortage by ensuring additional residency slots are available for teaching hospitals. Educated members of congress and staff on Graduate Medical Education and why we must increase residency slots to meet the growing demand by medical students and to help counteract the ever-growing physician shortage . Teaching hospitals and academic medical centers rely on support from the GME program to fulfill their mission of training physicians for the public good, furnishing highly-specialized care to the most medically complex patients, and delivering essential health care services to the community. H.R. 3119 - Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act - Would authorize grants to improve the training of health professionals in palliative care. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169 / S. 258: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act H.R. 5164: Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R.3225) Funding for 340B Drug Pricing Program Critical Access Hospital Relief Act (S. 258; H.R. 169) Support for Medicare and Medicaid Payment reductions, including Graduate Medical Education Support for Resident Physician Shortage Act of 2015 (S. 1148; H.R. 2124) Opposing Medicare and Medicaid Payment reductions, including those to Graduate Medical Education (H.R. 3292, the Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015), bad debt payments, post-acute care payments, Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, CAH payments, IPPS coding offset, rural hospital payments, hospital outpatient department (HOPD) clinics, and sequestration. Support for changes to site-neutral payment provision of Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-74) and flexibility in implementation of Section 603 of the law. Protecting 340B Drug Pricing Program in regulatory and legislative proposals Support for Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act (H.R. 1343/S. 688) and inclusion of similar provision in Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act (H.R. 5273) Support for Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER) Act (H.R. 2745) Addressing concerns related to the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and reporting mechanisms Encouraging Committees of jurisdiction to examine overlap in Merit-based Incentive Payment System and Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Payment Programs (Meaningful Use) Urging further flexibility in proposed rule [CMS-5517-P] to implement Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) Opposition to redistribution of Medicare DSH payments proposed in FFY 2017 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule [CMS-1655-P] Support for Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (H.R. 663/S. 332) Support for Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 2156) Support for Two-Midnight Rule Delay Act (H.R. 3698)/Two-Midnight Rule Coordination and Improvement Act of 2014 (S. 2082)

S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act S. 258 / H.R. 169 / S. 258: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 S. 1135: Hospital Payment Fairness Act H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act S. 1148 / H.R. 2124: Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act S. 2484 / H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act H.R. 2156: Medicare Audit Improvement Act

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R.3225) Funding for 340B Drug Pricing Program Critical Access Hospital Relief Act (S. 258; H.R. 169) Medicare and Medicaid Payment reductions, including Graduate Medical Education Resident Physician Shortage Act of 2015 (S. 1148; H.R. 2124) Hospital Outpatient Department Services Re Grandfathering of Existing, Planned and Existing Hospital Outpatient Services and Facilities as Exempt from Pending Site Neutral Payments

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Comments on Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care.

Provided education to Members of Congress and their staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Provided data to Members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff on the number of uninsured individuals in each district and statewide. Provided information on the uncompensated care burden in the state and how that impacts the 1115 waiver renewal as well as the safety net in the state. Provided education to members of Congress and their staff about the importance of adequate funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program. Worked with members of Congress and staff on proposals for combating the Zika virus and encouraged adequate funding of these plans. H.R.2745 - Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act of 2015 - Would standardize the merger review process for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Met with congressional staff on how the merger review process impacts hospital mergers and how this legislation would eliminate disparities between the two reviewing agencies. H.R. 2124, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act -- Would prevent a looming doctor shortage by ensuring additional residency slots are available for teaching hospitals. Educated members of congress and staff on Graduate Medical Education and why we must increase residency slots to meet the growing demand by medical students and to help counteract the ever-growing physician shortage . Teaching hospitals and academic medical centers rely on support from the GME program to fulfill their mission of training physicians for the public good, furnishing highly-specialized care to the most medically complex patients, and delivering essential health care services to the community. H.R.4428 - Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016 - would establish a national minimum of 0.874 for the Medicare Area Wage Index for Hospital Inpatient Services (Medicare Part A) and the Medicare Area Wage Adjustment Factor for Hospital Outpatient Department Services (Medicare Part B). Discussed with congressional staff the importance of leveling the Area Wage Index playing field for hospitals across the nation. Dozens of hospitals in Texas are negatively impacted by low AWI. While he AWI is designed so the average AWI is 1.0, Texas does not contain a single CBSA with an AWI at 1.0 or greater. H.R. 953 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act - Discussed with congressional staff how hospitals are involved with treating and caring for opioid and other substance abuse patients. Discussed limitations and flexibility within current law and congressional proposals. S.2002 - Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 - Talked with Senate staff about the importance of adequate funding and coordination of care across multiple disciplines, including hospitals, law enforcement, judicial system, outpatient clinics, community-based treatment and more. H.R. 3119 - Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act - Would authorize grants to improve the training of health professionals in palliative care. H.R.1343/S.688 - Would require CMS to take into account patients' sociodemographic status when imposing financial penalties for excessive hospital readmissions for Medicare patients. - Met with congressional staff on how socioeconomic status impacts health and the importance of this legislation, especially to large safety net hospitals. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 - Would make a variety of sweeping changes to the mental health infrastructure and while also reforming provider outreach, community-based treatment options, and justice system reform. - Discussed with staff how THA support the overall direction this bill would take the mental health system, and encouraged the use of community care in reforming the way we address mental health issues. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225

Provided education to Members of Congress and their staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Provided data to Members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff on the number of uninsured individuals in each district and statewide. Provided information on the uncompensated care burden in the state and how that impacts the 1115 waiver renewal as well as the safety net in the state. H.R.4428 - Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016 - would establish a national minimum of 0.874 for the Medicare Area Wage Index for Hospital Inpatient Services (Medicare Part A) and the Medicare Area Wage Adjustment Factor for Hospital Outpatient Department Services (Medicare Part B). Discussed with congressional staff the importance of leveling the Area Wage Index playing field for hospitals across the nation. Dozens of hospitals in Texas are negatively impacted by low AWI. While he AWI is designed so the average AWI is 1.0, Texas does not contain a single CBSA with an AWI at 1.0 or greater. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. H.R. 2124, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act -- Would prevent a looming doctor shortage by ensuring additional residency slots are available for teaching hospitals. Educated members of congress and staff on Graduate Medical Education and why we must increase residency slots to meet the growing demand by medical students and to help counteract the ever-growing physician shortage . Teaching hospitals and academic medical centers rely on support from the GME program to fulfill their mission of training physicians for the public good, furnishing highly-specialized care to the most medically complex patients, and delivering essential health care services to the community. H.R. 3119 - Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act - Would authorize grants to improve the training of health professionals in palliative care. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Critical Access and Rural Equity (CARE) Act (H.R. 4553) Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid managed care Medicare reduction proposals in President Obama's budget released 2015 MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals sustainable growth rate fix and impact on hospitals in Iowa Meaningful use in EHR Changes to the definition of patient in the 340B guidance and impact on Iowa hospitals Extension of sequestration against Medicare and the inclusion of the "site neutral" hospital outpatient department payment change in H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Clarifying amendment to hospital outpatient department grandfathering provision to include currently planned facilities and acquisitions at time of enactment of H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Concerns about processing and preauthorization, access to care issues with the Veteran's Choice program.

Provided education to Members of Congress and staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Educated members of congress and staff on the Medicare Area Wage Index. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. H.R.2156 - Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 - Would replace the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) contingency fee structure with a flat fee to reduce the financial incentive for overzealous auditing practices; lowers payments for poor RAC performance; allows hospitals to rebill claims when appropriate; and requires RACs to base their inpatient claims decisions on only the information the physician had when treating the patient. - Discussed with congressional staff the burden the RACs put on hospitals and how RAC reform is necessary to improve efficiency and fairness. H.R. 2513 - PACE Act of 2015 - Would remove the prohibition on expansion of physician-owned hospitals. - Met with staff on the role these facilities play in the health care infrastructure compared to general acute care hospitals (treating healthier patients and less Medicare and Medicaid populations) and how physician-owned hospitals raise ethical concerns for cherry-picking patients and physician self-referral. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225

Provided education to Members of Congress and their staff about renewal of a Texas Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the impact of Delivery System Reform Improvement Projects across the state and the role of hospitals in the waiver. Also provided information on the states 1115 waiver renewal application submitted to CMS in September and the timeline for negotiation over the next year. Provided data to Members of the Texas congressional delegation and their staff on the number of uninsured individuals in each district and statewide. Provided information on the uncompensated care burden in the state and how that impact the 1115 waiver renewal as well as the safety net in the state. Provided information to members of Congress and their staff on physician-owned hospitals. Provided education to members of Congress and their staff about the importance of adequate funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program. H.R.1343/S.688 - Would require CMS to take into account patients' sociodemographic status when imposing financial penalties for excessive hospital readmissions for Medicare patients. - Met with congressional staff on how socioeconomic status impacts health and the importance of this legislation, especially to large safety net hospitals. Educated members of congress and staff on the Medicare Area Wage Index. H.R.1479 - Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act - Would amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply budget neutrality on a State-specific basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor for non-rural areas. - Discussed with congressional staff and members of Congress that provisions related to how the current Medicare Area Wage Index impacts hospitals in Texas, and how the implementation of a rural floor would help rural hospitals across the state and country. S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act - would allow CMS to create a blanket hardship exemption from 2015 electronic health record meaningful use requirements and related payment adjustments to all providers who ask for it. The penalties would have been assessed in 2017. H.R. 2513 - PACE Act of 2015 - Would remove the prohibition on expansion of physician-owned hospitals. - Met with staff on the role these facilities play in the health care infrastructure compared to general acute care hospitals (treating healthier patients and less Medicare and Medicaid populations) and how physician-owned hospitals raise ethical concerns for cherry-picking patients and physician self-referral. H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 - Would make a variety of sweeping changes to the mental health infrastructure and while also reforming provider outreach, community-based treatment options, and justice system reform. - Discussed with staff how THA support the overall direction this bill would take the mental health system, and encouraged the use of community care in reforming the way we address mental health issues. Rural Hospital Issues: Discussed a variety of issues impacting rural and critical access hospitals with members of congress and their staff. Rural hospitals would greatly benefit from the passage of several pieces of legislation that would relieve onerous burdens and help the facilities better serve their communities. Specific legislation discussed includes: H.R.1479, S.1648, S.332, H.R.169/S.258, H.R.3225

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, it is a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with members of congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients; Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome;Discussed S. 1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Support the H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER Act), a bill to provide that the Federal Trade Commission shall exercise authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General exercises such authority; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Support HR 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act (MEND Act), a bill to enable hospital-based nursing programs that are affiliated with a hospital to maintain payments under the Medicare program to hospitals for the costs of such programs;Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948 Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Comment on HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Testified at three Insurance Consolidation Hearings to discuss the impact of the proposed acquisitions involving Aetna/ Humana and Anthem/Cigna; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule.

- Sent documents and data describing and presenting the impetus for a Missouri initiative on standards for the prescribing of opioids to health staff of the Missouri congressional delegation - Received a query from a Missouri congressional office regarding hospitals reactions to the quality of care components of a discussion draft of legislation (the Hospital Improvements for Payment Act of 2014.) - Coordinated a response to a query from staffers for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The query concerned price increases for two pharmaceutical products, Isuprel and Nitropress. - Discussed the potential sponsorship by a member of the Missouri congressional delegation of legislation regarding Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors. - Researched S. 2107, the Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act, which is co-sponsored by a member of the Missouri congressional delegation. - Responded to a query from the staff of a member of the Missouri congressional delegation for a list of issues to be discussed during upcoming congressional visits. - Met with selected members of the Missouri congressional delegation. Briefing papers addressed the following topics: 1) a profile of Missouris hospitals; 2) legislation to reform the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program (H.R. 2156); 3) Medicare DSH payment reform (H.R. 3288); 4) changes to the Medicare wage index system (H.R. 1479, S. 1135); 5) legislative proposals affecting rural hospitals (H.R. 3225, H.R. 2948, H.R. 2066, H.R. 169, S. 258, H.R. 1611, S. 257, section 3021 of H.R. 6); 6) protection of the 340B drug discount program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services; 7) legislation affecting behavioral health (S. 599, H.R. 2646, S. 1945, S. 1893, S. 2166); 8) regulatory standards of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Initiative; 9) the need for risk-adjustment of data used in the Medicare hospital readmissions program (S. 688 and H.R. 1343). - Corresponded with staff of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the logistics of meetings of hospital executives and selected members of the Missouri congressional delegation - Responded to a query from a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding legislation to change the payment formulas used by the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital program. - Responded to a query from a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding legislation to revise payment formulas used by the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital program. - Requested that members of the U.S. Senate representing Missouri contact Senate leaders to express support for inclusion of legislation to revise the Medicare wage index (H.R. 1479) in legislation to enact a continuing resolution to authorize federal budgetary expenditures. - Collaborated with staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding a January 2016 committee hearing to be held in Jefferson City, Missouri. The agenda of the hearing is the abuse and misuse of opioids used for pain control in the elderly. - Corresponded with the staff of a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding a change in staffing responsibilities in that congressional office.

H.R. 170: Rural Health Care Provider Relief Act of 2015 S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act H.R. 169 / S. 258: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 270: Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 H.R. 2878 / S. 1461: Would implement a one-year moratorium on enforcement of the supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act H.R. 1343 / S. 688: Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act H.R. 1314: Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid managed care Medicare reduction proposals in President Obama's budget released 2015 MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals sustainable growth rate fix and impact on hospitals in Iowa Meaningful use in EHR Changes to the definition of patient in the 340B guidance and impact on Iowa hospitals Extension of sequestration against Medicare and the inclusion of the "site neutral" hospital outpatient department payment change in H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Clarifying amendment to hospital outpatient department grandfathering provision to include currently planned facilities and acquisitions at time of enactment of H.R.1314 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Support for the Bay State fix in the Continuing Resolution

Client expense: $65,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, it is a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with members of congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients; Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome;Discussed S. 1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning; Submitted a statement to the Senate Commerce Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet Subcommittee hearing on Advancing Telehealth through Connectivity. The statement supports expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund at the Federal Communications Commission; Support the H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER Act), a bill to provide that the Federal Trade Commission shall exercise authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General exercises such authority; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Support HR 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act (MEND Act), a bill to enable hospital-based nursing programs that are affiliated with a hospital to maintain payments under the Medicare program to hospitals for the costs of such programs; Submitted comments to HHS to refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals during a meeting with staff in Center for Clinical Standards and quality to discuss member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official confusing during health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948 Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Comment on HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Testified at three Insurance Consolidation Hearings to discuss the impact of the proposed acquisitions involving Aetna/ Humana and Anthem/Cigna; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015A bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders.

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Relief Act of 2015 (S. 258/H.R. 169) Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S. 257/H.R. 1611) Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 (S. 332/H.R. 663) Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 (S. 607/H.R. 672) Act to Reform Recover Audit Contractors (RACs) (H.R. 2156) Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act (S. 1648) Save Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 3225) Significant concerns with Iowa's proposed transition to Medicaid manged care Medicare reduction proposals in President Obama's budget released 2015 MedPAC recommendations for cuts to hospital payments avoiding site-neutral cuts recovery audit contractor (RAC) program and needed transparency and changes protecting critical access hospital funding and necessary provider status rural hospitals and access to care in Iowa encouraging value-based purchasing hospital acquired conditions and other quality measures Medicare formula and Iowa's payment compared to payments to other states Iowa hospital's economic impact to communities and the state beneficiary access throughout Iowa and threats from regulatory burdens and changes importance of 340B program to Iowa's hospitals sustainable growth rate fix and impact on hospitals in Iowa Meaningful use in EHR

Client expense: $65,000 · Firm income: Not reported

H.R. 170: Rural Health Care Provider Relief Act of 2015 S. 257 / H.R. 1611: Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services Act H.R. 169 / S. 258: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 270: Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act of 2015 H.R. 672 / S. 607: Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015 H.R. 2652: Protecting Patients and Physicians Against Coding Act of 2015 H.R. 2247: Increasing Clarity for Doctors by Transitioning Effectively Now Act H.R. 2126: Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2015 H.R. 2878 / S. 1461: Would implement a one-year moratorium on enforcement of the supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services H.R. 1479: Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act S. 1648: Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act H.R. 3225: Save Rural Hospitals Act

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE