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Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015
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Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015 or the TRUST IT Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to define "information blocking" and "interoperability" for health information technology (IT). Information blocking is preventing, discouraging, or interfering with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information. Interoperability is the ability of health information systems to exchange information and use exchanged information. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) may publish information demonstrating how health IT meets the certification criteria of the voluntary health IT certification program. To be certified, health IT must meet security requirements, incorporate user-centered design, and achieve interoperability. Entities seeking certification of health IT must attest to meeting requirements regarding information blocking, communication between users and a certification body, and interoperability. The ONC must: (1) recognize a council to establish a rating program to evaluate the interoperability, usability, and security of health IT; (2) publish ratings from that program; (3) convene stakeholders to develop reporting criteria for entities offering health IT; and (4) establish a process for certification bodies to collect confidential feedback. The ONC may fine entities offering certified health IT that is rated less than satisfactory or entities that do not meet reporting requirements. The ONC may decertify health IT. The ONC must establish a revolving fund to reimburse users of health IT that becomes decertified for the cost of new certified health IT. Such users are exempt for one year from Medicare payment adjustment under the program that incentivizes meaningful use of electronic health records. The ONC must publish information on individuals' rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
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Filing registrants (21)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Bills with similar content found using semantic analysis.
Sources: Congress.gov
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and to extend non-enforcement for the Medicare direct supervision requirement for therapeutic hospital outpatient services for CAHs and rural hospitals ; Meaningful use flexibility: advocating for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program,that Stage 3 not begin until no sooner than 2019 and that meaningful use requirements for hospitals and CAHs align with those for eligible clinicians in MACRA; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support S 629 and H.R. 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools 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 limitations on Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)that includes financial penalties for inaccurate audit decisions; Provide input to CMS on implementation of quality measures required under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014; Analyze and develop suggested changes to the Personalize Your Care Act of 2015, a bill that would provide coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid; Oppose HR 2895, Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2015, a bill that would establish parity under the Medicare program for ambulatory cancer care services furnished in the hospital outpatient department and the physician office setting; Oppose HR 976 and HR 2513 Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015(PACE) Act of 2015, a bill to allow an increase in, and expansion of, physician-owned hospitals eligible for Medicare reimbursement; Support S 1148 and HR 2124Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, a bill to increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency slots; Urged SFC Chronic Care Working Group to consider expanding access to telehealth, removing legal barriers to clinical integration, and better engaging beneficiaries in their health and health care;Testified at the Observation status, Improving competition in Medicare and Prompt payment hearings; Support HR 2156, Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program; Discuss S. 861, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act of 2015 or the PRIME Act of 2015 with the Senate Finance Committee to reform the Medicare audits and appeals process; Support S. 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act, a bill for improved transparency of information about certified EHRs; Advocate to improve interoperability of electronic health records; Letter to CMS urging use of existing authority to bring flexibility to the EHR Incentive Program and discussion about needed flexibility; Support H.R. 5164, Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to extend the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals; Support S. 3129/H.R. 5613, legislation to extend through CY2016, the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals.
Client expense: $4,050,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and to extend non-enforcement for the Medicare direct supervision requirement for therapeutic hospital outpatient services for CAHs and rural hospitals ; Meaningful use flexibility: advocating for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program,that Stage 3 not begin until no sooner than 2019 and that meaningful use requirements for hospitals and CAHs align with those for eligible clinicians in MACRA; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support S 629 and H.R. 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools 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 limitations on Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)that includes financial penalties for inaccurate audit decisions; Provide input to CMS on implementation of quality measures required under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014; Analyze and develop suggested changes to the Personalize Your Care Act of 2015, a bill that would provide coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid; Oppose HR 2895, Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2015, a bill that would establish parity under the Medicare program for ambulatory cancer care services furnished in the hospital outpatient department and the physician office setting; Oppose HR 976 and HR 2513 Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015(PACE) Act of 2015, a bill to allow an increase in, and expansion of, physician-owned hospitals eligible for Medicare reimbursement; Support S 1148 and HR 2124Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, a bill to increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency slots; Urged SFC Chronic Care Working Group to consider expanding access to telehealth, removing legal barriers to clinical integration, and better engaging beneficiaries in their health and health care;Testified at the Observation status, Improving competition in Medicare and Prompt payment hearings; Support HR 2156, Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program; Discuss S. 861, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act of 2015 or the PRIME Act of 2015 with the Senate Finance Committee to reform the Medicare audits and appeals process; Support S. 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act, a bill for improved transparency of information about certified EHRs; Advocate to improve interoperability of electronic health records; Letter to CMS urging use of existing authority to bring flexibility to the EHR Incentive Program and discussion about needed flexibility; Support H.R. 5164, Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to extend the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals; Support S. 3129/H.R. 5613, legislation to extend through CY2016, the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals.
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology, proposed regulation of medical software, proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, Trust IT Act; proposed legislation regarding licensure of medical supply distributors; H.R.34, 21st Century Cures Act
Client expense: $340,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
S. 524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 Senate HELP Committee Innovations Package HR 6 21st Century Cures Act HR 1600 Patients Access to Treatment Act of 2015 HR 2739/S 1566 Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act HR 3381/S 1883 Childhood Cancer STAR Act HR 3119 Palliative Care Hospice Education and Training Act S 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015 H.R. 2846 Planning Actively for Cancer Treatment (PACT) Act of 2015 S. 2511 Improving Health Information Technology Act Reforms to the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Act
Client expense: $65,519 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology; proposed regulation of medical software; proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, TRUST IT Act; proposed legislation regarding standards for licensure of medical supply distributors; H.R. 34, 21st Century Cures Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $4,690,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Advocate regarding proposed regulations under Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-10). Advocate against CMS proposal regarding collection of data for all 10- and 90- day global surgery services. Advocate for adequate and accurate network coverage for dermatologic care within Medicare Advantage and health insurance exchange networks (S. 2392 / H.R. 4227, the Medicare Advantage Bill of Rights Act of 2015). Support legislation to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (S.141/ H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015). Lobby Congress on improvements to Health Information Technology implementation. Lobby Congress on issues related to telemedicine and Medicare reimbursement. Support legislation to have telemedicine services reimbursable by Medicare (S. 2484/ H.R. 4442, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act). Advocate on use and availability of health care data. Lobby in support of legislation to provide more flexibility in the Meaningful Use program (H.R. 3309, the Further Flexibility in HIT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability (Flex IT 2) Act). Advocate for EHR interoperability and enhancements to the federal certification system for health information technology; advocate for provisions to restrict data blocking by Electronic Health Records vendors (S. 2141, Transparent Ratings on Usability & Security to Transform Technology Act of 2015, S.2511, Improving Health Information Technology Act and H.R. 6/H.R. 34, 21st Century Cures Act). Advocate for improving disease management and care coordination for patients with chronic diseases (H.R. 6/H.R. 34, 21st Century Cures Act). Support preservation of the In-Offices Ancillary Services Exemption under Stark Law regarding physician self-referral. Advocate against H.R. 5008, Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act of 2016 Support legislation to provide more flexibility in compliance with the Sunshine Act (S.2978). Support legislation to have telemedicine services reimbursable by Medicare (S. 2484/H.R. 4442, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act). Support S. 2978, Protecting Continuing Physician Education & Patient Care Act. Advocate for increased graduate medical education funding.
Client expense: $350,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Act (Upton) - new cures and treatments H.R. 34, 21st Century Cures Act (Upton) - medical innovation, mental health, health information technology, telehealth, opioid funding, privacy H.R. 636, Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act (Tiberi) - air ambulance amendments H.R. 691, Telehealth Modernization Act (Matsui-Johnson) - telemedicine H.R. 1189, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Kline) - employee wellness programs H.R. 2300, Empowering Patients First Act (Price) - health reform issues H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (Murphy) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services H.R. 2712, Commonsense Reporting and Verification Act (Black) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (Farenthold) - FTC-DOJ rules for reviewing mergers H.R. 3099, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Harper) - national strategy to support family caregivers H.R. 3463, Aligning Childrens Dental Coverage Act (Griffith-DeGette) - rules for stand-alone dental plans H.R. 4276, Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act (Kennedy) - disclosure requirements relating to mental health parity H.R. 4641, Best Practices for Pain Management (Brooks) - HHS Task Force to review, revise, and disseminate best practices for pain management H.R. 4771, HEALTH Act (Franks) - medical liability reforms H.R. 5284, World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act (Sessions) - health reform issues Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment Act (Burr-Hatch-Upton) - health reform issues S. 185, Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health Act (Hatch) - FDA drug approval process S. 466, Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act (Stabenow) - pediatric quality measures S. 620, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Alexander) - employee wellness programs S. 961, Data Security Act (Carper) - data security S. 1077, Advancing Breakthrough Devices for Patients Act (Burr) - priority review of breakthrough medical devices S. 1427, Quality Measure Alignment Act (Stabenow) - facilitating coordination and alignment between public and private sectors on quality and efficiency measures S. 1719, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Collins) - national strategy to support family caregivers S. 1996, Commonsense Reporting Act (Warner) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies S. 2141, TRUST IT Act, (Cassidy) - health IT rating system S. 2646, Veterans Choice Improvement Act (Burr) - veterans health care S. 2680, Mental Health Reform Act (Alexander) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services S. 2700, FDA and NIH Workforce Authorities Modernization Act (Alexander) - medical innovation amendments S. 2985, World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act (Cassidy) - health reform issues S. 3244, Aligning Children's Dental Coverage Act (Roberts-Bennett) - rules for stand-alone dental plans Regulatory Issues: HIPAA administrative simplification issues, including standards for privacy, security, and electronic transactions and code sets (including ICD-10), identifiers including the health plan identifier, enforcement; cybersecurity; FEHBP enrollment data clearinghouse initiative, the enrollment reconciliation process, and a related OPM reimbursement factor for records that cannot be reconciled; issues relating to health insurance plan participation in FEHBP, including contract requirements; issues relating to similarly sized subscriber group (SSSG) and MLR requirements under the FEHBP; implementation of the health savings account provisions of the Medicare Act; issues related to Medicare Secondary Payer requirements; issues related to implementation of the National Health Information Infrastructure; electronic health records, personal health records, and similar technologies; issues relating to market consolidation; issues related to hospital consolidation; issues relating to quality improvement; issues related to potential priority research topics for the effective health care program; issues relating to the national health data stewardship; issues relating to hospital outpatient measurement and reporting; prescription drug pricing; issues relating to "meaningful use" requirements for health information technology; issues related to the collection of race and ethnicity data; issues related to medical loss ratios; reference pricing; review of rates for reasonableness; preexisting condition insurance plans; issues relating to antitrust; accountable care organizations; provider non-discrimination; coverage of preventive services; contraceptive coverage; pre-existing condition exclusions; lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits; patient protections; grandfathered health plan provisions; issues relating to the annual fee on health insurance providers; health plan automatic enrollment requirements; issues related to qualified health plans including certification and rate filing templates; health insurance market rules; reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment (commonly referred to as the 3 Rs); dependent coverage; summary of benefits and coverage disclosures; benefit and payment parameters; essential health benefits, actuarial value, and accreditation; issues related to fraud, waste, abuse, Stark/Anti-Kickback laws and regulations; issues related to supplemental products; issues related to HIPAA excepted benefits; issues related to the federally-facilitated marketplaces (i.e., Exchanges/formerly referred to as the web portal); issues related to business continuity in relation to pandemics or natural events (e.g., hurricane, tornado, etc.); issues related to small employer group size; issues related to Certificate of Public Advantage; and other issues relating to health care reform implementation.
Client expense: $1,330,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, White House Office
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
S 1101 "MEDTECH Act," all provisions pertaining to a framework for oversight of patient safety in health information technology. S 2511 "Improving Health Information Technology Act," all provisions pertaining to the role of government and private sector interoperability initiatives and the unintended consequences of regulating health information exchange standards in health IT. S 2141 "Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the role of health information technology in care coordination, interoperability, information blocking and certification. Issues relating to the implementation of Public Law No: 114-10 "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the Meaningful Use program and Implementation of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
Client expense: $170,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and to extend non-enforcement for the Medicare direct supervision requirement for therapeutic hospital outpatient services for CAHs and rural hospitals ; Meaningful use flexibility: advocating for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program,that Stage 3 not begin until no sooner than 2019 and that meaningful use requirements for hospitals and CAHs align with those for eligible clinicians in MACRA; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support S 629 and H.R. 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools 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 limitations on Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)that includes financial penalties for inaccurate audit decisions; Provide input to CMS on implementation of quality measures required under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014; Analyze and develop suggested changes to the Personalize Your Care Act of 2015, a bill that would provide coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid; Oppose HR 2895, Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2015, a bill that would establish parity under the Medicare program for ambulatory cancer care services furnished in the hospital outpatient department and the physician office setting; Oppose HR 976 and HR 2513 Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015(PACE) Act of 2015, a bill to allow an increase in, and expansion of, physician-owned hospitals eligible for Medicare reimbursement; Support S 1148 and HR 2124Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, a bill to increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency slots; Urged SFC Chronic Care Working Group to consider expanding access to telehealth, removing legal barriers to clinical integration, and better engaging beneficiaries in their health and health care;Testified at the Observation status, Improving competition in Medicare and Prompt payment hearings; Support HR 2156, Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program; Discuss S. 861, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act of 2015 or the PRIME Act of 2015 with the Senate Finance Committee to reform the Medicare audits and appeals process; Support S. 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act, a bill for improved transparency of information about certified EHRs; Advocate to improve interoperability of electronic health records; Letter to CMS urging use of existing authority to bring flexibility to the EHR Incentive Program and discussion about needed flexibility; Support H.R. 5164, Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to extend the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals; Support S. 3129/H.R. 5613, legislation to extend through CY2016, the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals.
Client expense: $4,970,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 1707, Access to Frontline Health Care Act, all sections H.R. 1741, Truth in Health Marketing Act, all sections H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections S. 141, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections P.L. 111-192, Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010, all sections related to physicians and vision P.L. 111-148 Affordable Care Act, modifications: 1. Reducing regulatory/costly burdens on medical practices - relief from regulatory penalties 2. Preserving patient access to office ancillary testing services 4. Independent Payment Advisory Board H.R. 1312, National Health Service Corps Improvement Act Meaningful Use/EHR program issues P.L. 113-54, Drug Quality & Security Act, all sections Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93) ASC Quality Reporting Program Medicare Advantage plan network adequacy H.R. 270, FlexIT Act, all sections H.R. 3309, Flex IT 2 Act, all sections S. 2141, Trust IT Act 2016 Physician Schedule Rule, sections pertaining to fee cuts Drug Price Increases Medicare Part B Drug Demonstration Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (PL114-10) S.2777, Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Proposed 2017 Physician Fee Schedule. Section pertaining to global surgery data collection proposal H.R. 1178, Ensuring Equal Access to Treatment Act
Client expense: $160,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Science/Technology
Health Software Regulation, Cybersecurity, Electronic Health Records, Patient Safety, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, S.2141- TRUST-IT Act, Patient Identification, Medical Device Interoperability, Medical Device Cybersecurity, Healthcare/ Clinical Data Standards
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 270 - Flexibility in Health IT Reporting, Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program, Electronic Health Records, Interoperability, Telehealth, HR 6 - 21st Century Cures Act, HR 3309- Further Flexibility in Health IT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability Act, S. 2141 - TRUST-IT, Patient Identification, S. 2425, S. 2511 - Improving Health Information Technology Act, HR 5001/ S.2822 - Flexibility in EHR Reporting Act, S. 3173 - Electronic Health Record (EHR) Regulatory Relief Act
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Physician payment policy including implementation of H.R.2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and S.737, the Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act; electronic health record incentive program policy; value-based payment modifier policy; hospital readmissions program policy, including H.R.1343 and S.688; policies related to health information technology, including S.2141; H.R.4848, the Healthy Inpatient Procedures Act of 2016; policies related to mental health, including H.R.2646, The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act and S.2680, The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016; and policies related to opioid abuse.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Health care quality; physician and hospital quality; health care reform implementation; medical liability reform; Physician Sunshine/Open Payments; informed consent and FDA-related research; unique device identifier policy and postmarket surveillance for medical devices; Medical Device User Fee Act reauthorization; clinical data registries; the Common Rule and registries; HIPAA and registries; federal funding/appropriations for HHS, NIH, AHRQ, CDC, HRSA, FDA, medical research, and prevention; healthy diet/lifestyle; 21st Century Cures Act and Senate HELP companion legislation, Healthier Americans; data blocking/interoperability of electronic data - Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate HELP Committee; S 2141, TRUST-IT Act; health disparities; HR 4152, the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2015; HR 3952/S 2248, the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2015; S 2511, the Improving Health Information Technology Act; HR 1859/S 2782, the Ensuring Childrens Access to Specialty Care Act; HR 1192/ S 586, the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act.
Client expense: $450,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), Agriculture, Dept of (USDA), Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, White House Office
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to the quality of cancer care; Health reform implementation issues pertaining to the regulation and coverage of cancer care and treatments; Issues pertaining to average sales price;Issues pertaining to health disparities in cancer care; Issues pertaining to the development of cancer therapies; Issues pertaining to health information technology [S.2141 - TRUST IT Act]; S.524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
S. 524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 Senate HELP Committee Innovations Package HR 6 21st Century Cures Act HR 1600 Patients Access to Treatment Act of 2015 HR 2739/S 1566 Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act HR 3381/S 1883 Childhood Cancer STAR Act HR 3119 Palliative Care Hospice Education and Training Act S 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015 H.R. 2846 Planning Actively for Cancer Treatment (PACT) Act of 2015 S. 2511 Improving Health Information Technology Act Reforms to the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Act
Client expense: $169,982 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology; proposed regulation of medical software; proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, TRUST IT Act; proposed legislation regarding licensure of medical supply distributors
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $10,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology, proposed regulation of medical software, proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, Trust IT Act; proposed legislation regarding licensure of medical supply distributors
Client expense: $220,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and to extend non-enforcement for the Medicare direct supervision requirement for therapeutic hospital outpatient services for CAHs and rural hospitals ; Meaningful use flexibility: advocating for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program,that Stage 3 not begin until no sooner than 2019 and that meaningful use requirements for hospitals and CAHs align with those for eligible clinicians in MACRA; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support S 629 and H.R. 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools 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 limitations on Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)that includes financial penalties for inaccurate audit decisions; Provide input to CMS on implementation of quality measures required under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014; Analyze and develop suggested changes to the Personalize Your Care Act of 2015, a bill that would provide coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid; Oppose HR 2895, Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2015, a bill that would establish parity under the Medicare program for ambulatory cancer care services furnished in the hospital outpatient department and the physician office setting; Oppose HR 976 and HR 2513 Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015(PACE) Act of 2015, a bill to allow an increase in, and expansion of, physician-owned hospitals eligible for Medicare reimbursement; Support S 1148 and HR 2124Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, a bill to increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency slots; Urged SFC Chronic Care Working Group to consider expanding access to telehealth, removing legal barriers to clinical integration, and better engaging beneficiaries in their health and health care;Testified at the Observation status, Improving competition in Medicare and Prompt payment hearings; Support HR 2156, Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program; Discuss S. 861, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act of 2015 or the PRIME Act of 2015 with the Senate Finance Committee to reform the Medicare audits and appeals process; Support S. 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act, a bill for improved transparency of information about certified EHRs; Advocate to improve interoperability of electronic health records; Letter to CMS urging use of existing authority to bring flexibility to the EHR Incentive Program and discussion about needed flexibility; Support H.R. 5164, Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to extend the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals; Support S. 3129/H.R. 5613, legislation to extend through CY2016, the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals.
Client expense: $4,050,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Act (Upton) - new cures and treatments H.R. 636, Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act (Tiberi) - air ambulance amendments H.R. 691, Telehealth Modernization Act (Matsui-Johnson) - telemedicine H.R. 1189, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Kline) - employee wellness programs H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (Murphy) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services H.R. 2712, Commonsense Reporting and Verification Act (Black) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (Farenthold) - FTC-DOJ rules for reviewing mergers H.R. 3099, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Harper) - national strategy to support family caregivers H.R. 3463, Aligning Childrens Dental Coverage Act (Griffith-DeGette) - rules for stand-alone dental plans H.R. 4276, Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act (Kennedy) - disclosure requirements relating to mental health parity H.R. 4641, Best Practices for Pain Management (Brooks) - HHS Task Force to review, revise, and disseminate best practices for pain management H.R. 4771, HEALTH Act (Franks) - medical liability reforms H.R. 5054, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Aderholt) - 21st Century Cures provisions S. 185, Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health Act (Hatch) - FDA drug approval process S. 466, Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act (Stabenow) - pediatric quality measures S. 524, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (Whitehouse) - prescription opioid abuse S. 620, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Alexander) - employee wellness programs S. 961, Data Security Act (Carper) - data security S. 1077, Advancing Breakthrough Devices for Patients Act (Burr) - priority review of breakthrough medical devices S. 1427, Quality Measure Alignment Act (Stabenow) - facilitating coordination and alignment between public and private sectors on quality and efficiency measures S. 1719, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Collins) - national strategy to support family caregivers S. 1996, Commonsense Reporting Act (Warner) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies S. 2141, TRUST IT Act, (Cassidy) - health IT rating system S. 2646, Veterans Choice Improvement Act (Burr) - veterans health care S. 2680, Mental Health Reform Act (Alexander) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services S. 2700, FDA and NIH Workforce Authorities Modernization Act (Alexander) - medical innovation amendments S. 3040, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017 (Blunt) - funding for HHS programs and agencies, ACA risk corridors program S. 3244, Aligning Children's Dental Coverage Act (Roberts-Bennett) - rules for stand-alone dental plans Regulatory Issues: HIPAA administrative simplification issues, including standards for privacy, security, and electronic transactions and code sets (including ICD-10), identifiers including the health plan identifier, enforcement; cybersecurity; FEHBP enrollment data clearinghouse initiative, the enrollment reconciliation process, and a related OPM reimbursement factor for records that cannot be reconciled; issues relating to health insurance plan participation in FEHBP, including contract requirements; issues relating to similarly sized subscriber group (SSSG) and MLR requirements under the FEHBP; implementation of the health savings account provisions of the Medicare Act; issues related to Medicare Secondary Payer requirements; issues related to implementation of the National Health Information Infrastructure; electronic health records, personal health records, and similar technologies; issues relating to market consolidation; issues related to hospital consolidation; issues relating to quality improvement; issues related to potential priority research topics for the effective health care program; issues relating to the national health data stewardship; issues relating to hospital outpatient measurement and reporting; prescription drug pricing; issues relating to "meaningful use" requirements for health information technology; issues related to the collection of race and ethnicity data; issues related to medical loss ratios; reference pricing; review of rates for reasonableness; preexisting condition insurance plans; issues relating to antitrust; accountable care organizations; provider non-discrimination; coverage of preventive services; contraceptive coverage; pre-existing condition exclusions; lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits; patient protections; grandfathered health plan provisions; issues relating to the annual fee on health insurance providers; health plan automatic enrollment requirements; issues related to qualified health plans including certification and rate filing templates; health insurance market rules; reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment (commonly referred to as the 3 Rs); dependent coverage; summary of benefits and coverage disclosures; benefit and payment parameters; essential health benefits, actuarial value, and accreditation; issues related to fraud, waste, abuse, Stark/Anti-Kickback laws and regulations; issues related to supplemental products; issues related to HIPAA excepted benefits; issues related to the federally-facilitated marketplaces (i.e., Exchanges/formerly referred to as the web portal); issues related to business continuity in relation to pandemics or natural events (e.g., hurricane, tornado, etc.); issues related to small employer group size; issues related to Certificate of Public Advantage; and other issues relating to health care reform implementation.
Client expense: $1,710,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Executive Office of the President (EOP), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, White House Office
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Advocate regarding proposed regulations under Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-10). Advocate for adequate and accurate network coverage for dermatologic care within Medicare Advantage and health insurance exchange networks (S. 2392 / H.R. 4227, the Medicare Advantage Bill of Rights Act of 2015). Support legislation to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (S.141/ H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015). Lobby Congress on improvements to Health Information Technology implementation. Lobby Congress on issues related to telemedicine and Medicare reimbursement. Support legislation to have telemedicine services reimbursable by Medicare (S. 2484/ H.R. 4442, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act). Advocate on use and availability of health care data. Lobby in support of legislation to provide more flexibility in the Meaningful Use program (, H.R. 3309, the Further Flexibility in HIT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability (Flex IT 2) Act), H.R. 3940, HR 5001/S.2822 Flexibility in Electronic Health Record Reporting Act. Advocate for EHR interoperability and enhancements to the federal certification system for health information technology (S. 2141, Transparent Ratings on Usability & Security to Transform Technology Act of 2015 and S.2511, Improving Health Information Technology Act). Lobby in support of legislation to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on the application of the Common Rule to clinical data registries (H.R. 965, Facilitating Participation in Clinical Data Registries Act of 2015). Support legislation to reduce Medicare fraud and improve access to Death Master File, S. 1073, the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Advocate for improving disease management and care coordination for patients with chronic diseases Support preservation of the In Offices Ancillary Services Exemption under Stark Law regarding physician self-referral. Advocate against H.R. 5008, Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act of 2016 Support legislation to provide more flexibility in compliance with the Sunshine Act (S.2978). Advocate against data blocking by Electronic Health Records vendors. Support legislation to have telemedicine services reimbursable by Medicare (S. 2484/H.R. 4442, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act). Support S. 2978, Protecting Continuing Physician Education & Patient Care Act. Advocate for increased graduate medical education funding. Lobby members of House to write to CMS in opposition of a policy in the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule that would require all physicians to collect and report data on all services included in 10- and 90-day global surgery codes.
Client expense: $470,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Interoperability Meaningful Use Electronic Medical Records HR 6 -- 21st Century Cures S 2141 - TRUST IT Act S 2511 - Improving Health IT Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $36,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Health care quality; physician and hospital quality; health care reform implementation; medical liability reform; Physician Sunshine/Open Payments; informed consent and FDA-related research; unique device identifier policy and postmarket surveillance for medical devices; Medical Device User Fee Act reauthorization; clinical data registries; the Common Rule and registries; HIPAA and registries; federal funding/appropriations for HHS, NIH, AHRQ, CDC, HRSA, FDA, medical research, and prevention; healthy diet/lifestyle; HR 6, 21st Century Cures Act and Senate HELP companion legislation, Healthier Americans; data blocking/interoperability of electronic data - Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate HELP Committee; S 2141, TRUST-IT Act; health disparities; HR 4152, the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2015; HR 3952/S 2248, the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2015; S 2511, the Improving Health Information Technology Act; HR 1859/S 2782, the Ensuring Childrens Access to Specialty Care Act; HR 1192/ S 586, the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act.
Client expense: $850,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), Agriculture, Dept of (USDA), Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, White House Office
2016 · third_quarter · Science/Technology
Health Software Regulation, Cybersecurity, Electronic Health Records, Patient Safety, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, S.2141- TRUST-IT Act, Patient Identification, Patient Idenitification, Medical Device Interoperability, Medical Device Cybersecurity, Healthcare/ Clinical Data Standards
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 270 - Flexibility in Health IT Reporting, Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program, Electronic Health Records, Interoperability, Telehealth, HR 6 - 21st Century Cures Act, HR 3309- Further Flexibility in Health IT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability Act, S. 2141 - TRUST-IT, Patient Identification, S. 2425, S. 2511 - Improving Health Information Technology Act, HR 5001/ S.2822 - Flexibility in EHR Reporting Act, S. 3173 - Electronic Health Record (EHR) Regulatory Relief Act
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S. 3130, Independence at Home Act of 2016, all provisions S. 3220, Medicare Common Access Card Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 3355, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs, all provisions S. 488, A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs, all provisions S. 1913, Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 4442, Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, all provisions S. 2484, Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, all provisions S. 2141, Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015, all provisions S. 1131, Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 976, Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 2568, Fair Medical Audits Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act of 2016, all provisions S. 2758, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act of 2016, all provisions Medicare program: ACO Improvement Act of 2016 Medicare program: Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) implementation Medicare program: Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Medicare program: Part B Drug Demonstration Medicare program: Outpatient Prospective Payment - site of service, pain measures Medicare program: Advancing Care Information (ACI) Medicare program: Clinical Practice Improvement Activities (CPIA) Medicare program: Resource use Medicare program: Physician Fee Schedule Medicare program: Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) Medicare program: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Medicare program: Global surgical codes Medicare program: Mobility payment add-on Medicare program: Episode groups Medicare program: Patient relationship codes Medicare program: Composite scoring and performance adjustments Medicare program: Feedback reports Medicare program: Alternative payment models (APMs) Medicare program: Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) Medicare program: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Medicare program: Electronic health record (EHR) interoperability Medicare program: EHR/Meaningful Use Medicare program: EHR Certification Medicare program: ICD-10 Medicare program: Medicare appeals Medicare program: Medicare Pre-Diabetes Program Medicare program: Unique Device Identifier Medicare program: CPT Medicare program: Social Security Number Removal Initiative Medicare program: Telehealth Medicare program: In-office Ancillary Services Exception Medicare program: Value-based Payment Modifier Medicare program: Graduate Medical Education Medicare program: Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Medicare program: Prescription drug diversion Medicare program: Physician data Medicare program: Physician-owned hospital moratorium Medicare program: Smart Card technology Medicare program: PECOS/Medicare Enrollment Medicare program: Diabetes Prevention Program fees
Client expense: $3,870,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of Natl Drug Control Policy (NDCP), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 1270, Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2015, all provisions S. 709, Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 3926, Gun Violence Research Act, all provisions S. 524, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016, all provisions S. 2978, Protecting Continuing Physician Education and Patient Care Act, all provisions H.R. 293, To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to exempt from manufacturer transparency reporting certain transfers used for educational purposes, and for other purposes, all provisions S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016, all provisions H.R. 1217, Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 1725, National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization (NASPER) Act of 2015, all provisions S. 480, National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization (NASPER) Act of 2016, all provisions H.R. 2536, The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act, all provisions S. 1455, The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act, all provisions H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act of 2016, all provisions S. 2758, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) Act of 2016, all provisions H.R. 1877, Mental Health First Aid Act of 2016, all provisions H.R. 1217, Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015, all provisions H.R. 1209, Improving Access to Maternity Care Act, all provisions S. 3077, Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2016, all provisions S. 2141, Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015, all provisions Health Savings Accounts - Prescription requirements for over-the-counter medications Opioid Abuse Prescription Drug Diversion Telemedicine - Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Gun Violence Zika Virus Funding Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), audits and physician education Electronic health record (EHR) interoperability Physician Payment Sunshine 21st Century Cures, Innovations Personalized Medicine Initiative Laboratory developed testing PrecisionFDA Diabetes Prevention Health Data Security Next Generation Sequencing Drug Compounding
Client expense: $3,870,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of Natl Drug Control Policy (NDCP), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
S 1101 "MEDTECH Act," all provisions pertaining to a framework for oversight of patient safety in health information technology. S 2511 "Improving Health Information Technology Act," all provisions pertaining to the role of government and private sector interoperability initiatives and the unintended consequences of regulating health information exchange standards in health IT. S 2141 "Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the role of health information technology in care coordination, interoperability, information blocking and certification. Issues relating to the implementation of Public Law No: 114-10 "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the Meaningful Use program and Implementation of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
Client expense: $110,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
S 1101 "MEDTECH Act," all provisions pertaining to a framework for oversight of patient safety in health information technology. S 2511 "Improving Health Information Technology Act," all provisions pertaining to the role of government and private sector interoperability initiatives and the unintended consequences of regulating health information exchange standards in health IT. S 2141 "Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the role of health information technology in care coordination, interoperability, information blocking and certification. Issues relating to the implementation of Public Law No: 114-10 "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the Meaningful Use program and Implementation of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
Client expense: $140,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Physician payment policy including implementation of H.R.2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and S.737, the Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act; electronic health record incentive program policy; value-based payment modifier policy; mental health reform policy proposals, including H.R.2646 and S.1945; hospital readmissions program policy, including H.R.1343 and S.688; policies related to health information technology, including S.2141; H.R.4848, the Healthy Inpatient Procedures Act of 2016; policies related to mental health, including H.R.2646, The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act and S.2680, The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016; and policies related to opioid abuse, including S.524, The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 1707, Access to Frontline Health Care Act, all sections H.R. 1741, Truth in Health Marketing Act, all sections H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections S. 141, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections P.L. 111-192, Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010, all sections related to physicians and vision P.L. 111-148 Affordable Care Act, modifications: 1. Reducing regulatory/costly burdens on medical practices - relief from regulatory penalties 2. Preserving patient access to office ancillary testing services 4. Independent Payment Advisory Board H.R. 1312, National Health Service Corps Improvement Act Meaningful Use/EHR program issues P.L. 113-54, Drug Quality & Security Act, all sections Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93) ASC Quality Reporting Program Medicare Advantage plan network adequacy H.R. 270, FlexIT Act, all sections H.R. 3309, Flex IT 2 Act, all sections S. 2141, Trust IT Act 2016 Physician Schedule Rule, sections pertaining to fee cuts Drug Price Increases Medicare Part B Drug Demonstration Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (PL114-10) S.2777, Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Proposed 2017 Physician Fee Schedule. Section pertaining to global surgery data collection proposal
Client expense: $170,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to the quality of cancer care; Health reform implementation issues pertaining to the regulation and coverage of cancer care and treatments; Issues pertaining to average sales price;Issues pertaining to health disparities in cancer care; Issues pertaining to the development of cancer therapies; Issues pertaining to health information technology [S.2141 - TRUST IT Act]; S.524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology; proposed regulation of medical software; proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, TRUST IT Act; proposed legislation regarding licensure of medical supply distributors
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
S 1101 "MEDTECH Act," all provisions pertaining to a framework for oversight of patient safety in health information technology. S 2511 "Improving Health Information Technology Act," all provisions pertaining to the role of government and private sector interoperability initiatives and the unintended consequences of regulating health information exchange standards in health IT. S 2141 "Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the role of health information technology in care coordination, interoperability, information blocking and certification. Issues relating to the implementation of Public Law No: 114-10 "Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015," all provisions pertaining to the Meaningful Use program and Implementation of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
Client expense: $270,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology, proposed regulation of medical software, proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, Trust IT Act; proposed legislation regarding licensure of medical supply distributors
Client expense: $220,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Advocate regarding proposed regulations under Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-10). Advocate for adequate and accurate network coverage for dermatologic care within Medicare Advantage and health insurance exchange networks (S. 2392 / H.R. 4227, the Medicare Advantage Bill of Rights Act of 2015). Support legislation to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (S.141/ H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015). Lobby Congress on improvements to Health Information Technology implementation. Lobby Congress on issues related to telemedicine and Medicare reimbursement. Advocate on use and availability of health care data. Lobby in support of legislation to provide more flexibility in the Meaningful Use program (, H.R. 3309, the Further Flexibility in HIT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability (Flex IT 2) Act), H.R. 3940, HR 5001/S.2822 Flexibility in Electronic Health Record Reporting Act. Advocate for EHR interoperability and enhancements to the federal certification system for health information technology (S. 2141, Transparent Ratings on Usability & Security to Transform Technology Act of 2015 and S.2511, Improving Health Information Technology Act). Lobby in support of legislation to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on the application of the Common Rule to clinical data registries (H.R. 965, Facilitating Participation in Clinical Data Registries Act of 2015). Support legislation to improve transparency and due process in the Medicare RAC audit and appeals process (H.R. 2568, Fair Medical Audits Act). Support legislation to reduce Medicare fraud and improve access to Death Master File, S. 1073, the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Advocate for improving disease management and care coordination for patients with chronic diseases Support preservation of the In Offices Ancillary Services Exemption under Stark Law regarding physician self-referral. Advocate against H.R. 5008, Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act of 2016 Support legislation to provide more flexibility in compliance with the Sunshine Act (S.2978). Advocate against data blocking by Electronic Health Records vendors. Support legislation to have telemedicine services reimbursable by Medicare (S. 2484/ H.R. 4442, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act). Support S. 2978, Protecting Continuing Physician Education & Patient Care Act. Advocate for increased graduate medical education funding.
Client expense: $400,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to smoking cessation, Medicare Part D and anti-PBM legislation. Other issues include health care delivery system reforms including telehealth, chronic care, Innovation Initiative & health IT, cost containment and medication adherence. HR 793 - Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act HR 2570-Strengthening Medicare Advantage through Innovation and Transparency for Seniors of 2015 HR 605-Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act S 275-Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act HR 2029-Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 S 2141-Transparent Ratings on Usability & Security to Transform Information Technology H.R. 2712,Commonsense Reporting and Verification Act of 2015 S. 1996, Commonsense Reporting Act of 2015
Client expense: $1,158,247 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Support HR 672 and S 607, Rural Community Hospital (RCH) Demonstration Extension Act of 2015, a bill that will extend the demonstration for five more years, will ensure that RCH continues to help Americas communities in many ways, especially by allowing hospitals to expand and improve the services rural communities need. Also enables hospitals with fewer than 51 beds to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement. Affects 23 small, rural hospitals nationwide. Demo included in MMA, extended and expanded in ACA and Budget neutral; Support HR 663 and S 332, Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015, a bill that would make permanent both the Medicare-dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, which are vital programs for rural hospitals and the patients and communities they serve; Support S 257 and HR 1611, Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTs)Act of 2015, a bill that would provide hospitals relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations with respect to direct supervision of outpatient therapeutic services; Support HR 270,Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015, a bill that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make a necessary adjustment to how it implements the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs and to extend non-enforcement for the Medicare direct supervision requirement for therapeutic hospital outpatient services for CAHs and rural hospitals ; Meaningful use flexibility: advocating for a shorter meaningful use reporting period and other flexibilities that would increase hospitals ability to meet Stage 2 and move forward with the program,that Stage 3 not begin until no sooner than 2019 and that meaningful use requirements for hospitals and CAHs align with those for eligible clinicians in MACRA; Support S. 377 and HR 745, Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase access to ambulance services under the Medicare program and to reform payments for such services under such program; Support S. 688 and HR 1343, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the Medicare hospital readmission reduction program to respond to patient disparities; Support S 629 and H.R. 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools 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 limitations on Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs)that includes financial penalties for inaccurate audit decisions; Provide input to CMS on implementation of quality measures required under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014; Analyze and develop suggested changes to the Personalize Your Care Act of 2015, a bill that would provide coverage of voluntary advance care planning consultation under Medicare and Medicaid; Oppose HR 2895, Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2015, a bill that would establish parity under the Medicare program for ambulatory cancer care services furnished in the hospital outpatient department and the physician office setting; Oppose HR 976 and HR 2513 Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015(PACE) Act of 2015, a bill to allow an increase in, and expansion of, physician-owned hospitals eligible for Medicare reimbursement; Support S 1148 and HR 2124Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015, a bill to increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency slots; Urged SFC Chronic Care Working Group to consider expanding access to telehealth, removing legal barriers to clinical integration, and better engaging beneficiaries in their health and health care;Testified at the Observation status, Improving competition in Medicare and Prompt payment hearings; Support HR 2156, Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program; Discuss S. 861, Preventing and Reducing Improper Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures Act of 2015 or the PRIME Act of 2015 with the Senate Finance Committee to reform the Medicare audits and appeals process; Support S. 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act, a bill for improved transparency of information about certified EHRs; Advocate to improve interoperability of electronic health records; Letter to CMS urging use of existing authority to bring flexibility to the EHR Incentive Program and discussion about needed flexibility; Support H.R. 5164, Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to extend the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals; Support S. 3129/H.R. 5613, legislation to extend through CY2016, the enforcement moratorium on CMS direct supervision policy for CAHs and small, rural hospitals.
Client expense: $4,690,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA), White House Office
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Act (Upton) - new cures and treatments H.R. 636, Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act (Tiberi) - air ambulance amendments H.R. 691, Telehealth Modernization Act (Matsui-Johnson) - telemedicine H.R. 1189, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Kline) - employee wellness programs H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (Murphy) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services H.R. 2712, Commonsense Reporting and Verification Act (Black) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (Farenthold) - FTC-DOJ rules for reviewing mergers H.R. 3099, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Harper) - national strategy to support family caregivers H.R. 3463, Aligning Childrens Dental Coverage Act (Griffith-DeGette) - rules for stand-alone dental plans H.R. 4276, Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act (Kennedy) - disclosure requirements relating to mental health parity H.R. 4641, Best Practices for Pain Management (Brooks) - HHS Task Force to review, revise, and disseminate best practices for pain management H.R. 4771, HEALTH Act (Franks) - medical liability reforms H.R. 5054, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Aderholt) - 21st Century Cures provisions H.J.Res. 88 (Roe) - disapproving DOL fiduciary regulation S. 185, Promise for Antibiotics and Therapeutics for Health Act (Hatch) - FDA drug approval process S. 466, Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act (Stabenow) - pediatric quality measures S. 524, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (Whitehouse) - prescription opioid abuse S. 620, Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (Alexander) - employee wellness programs S. 961, Data Security Act (Carper) - data security S. 1077, Advancing Breakthrough Devices for Patients Act (Burr) - priority review of breakthrough medical devices S. 1427, Quality Measure Alignment Act (Stabenow) - facilitating coordination and alignment between public and private sectors on quality and efficiency measures S. 1719, RAISE Family Caregivers Act (Collins) - national strategy to support family caregivers S. 1996, Commonsense Reporting Act (Warner) - employer reporting and eligibility verification for ACA subsidies S. 2141, TRUST IT Act, (Cassidy) - health IT rating system S. 2646, Veterans Choice Improvement Act (Burr) - veterans health care S. 2680, Mental Health Reform Act (Alexander) - compliance with parity requirements, mental health services S. 2700, FDA and NIH Workforce Authorities Modernization Act (Alexander) - medical innovation amendments S. 3040, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017 (Blunt) - funding for HHS programs and agencies, ACA risk corridors program Regulatory Issues: HIPAA administrative simplification issues, including standards for privacy, security, and electronic transactions and code sets (including ICD-10), identifiers including the health plan identifier, enforcement; cybersecurity; FEHBP enrollment data clearinghouse initiative, the enrollment reconciliation process, and a related OPM reimbursement factor for records that cannot be reconciled; issues relating to health insurance plan participation in FEHBP, including contract requirements; issues relating to similarly sized subscriber group (SSSG) and MLR requirements under the FEHBP;. implementation of the health savings account provisions of the Medicare Act; issues related to Medicare Secondary Payer requirements; issues related to implementation of the National Health Information Infrastructure; electronic health records, personal health records, and similar technologies; issues relating to market consolidation; issues related to hospital consolidation; issues relating to quality improvement; issues related to potential priority research topics for the effective health care program; issues relating to the national health data stewardship; issues relating to hospital outpatient measurement and reporting; prescription drug pricing; issues relating to "meaningful use" requirements for health information technology; issues related to the collection of race and ethnicity data; issues related to medical loss ratios; reference pricing; review of rates for reasonableness; preexisting condition insurance plans; issues relating to antitrust; accountable care organizations; provider non-discrimination; coverage of preventive services; contraceptive coverage; pre-existing condition exclusions; lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits; patient protections; grandfathered health plan provisions; issues relating to the annual fee on health insurance providers; health plan automatic enrollment requirements; issues related to qualified health plans including certification and rate filing templates; health insurance market rules; reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment (commonly referred to as the 3 Rs); dependent coverage; summary of benefits and coverage disclosures; benefit and payment parameters; essential health benefits, actuarial value, and accreditation; issues related to fraud, waste, abuse, Stark/Anti-Kickback laws and regulations; issues related to supplemental products; issues related to HIPAA excepted benefits; issues related to the federally-facilitated marketplaces (i.e., Exchanges/formerly referred to as the web portal); issues related to business continuity in relation to pandemics or natural events (e.g., hurricane, tornado, etc.); issues related to small employer group size; issues related to Certificate of Public Advantage; and other issues relating to health care reform implementation.
Client expense: $1,710,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Justice, Dept of (DOJ), Labor, Dept of (DOL), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, White House Office
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
S. 524 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 Senate HELP Committee Innovations Package HR 6 21st Century Cures Act HR 1600 Patients Access to Treatment Act of 2015 HR 2739/S 1566 Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act HR 3381/S 1883 Childhood Cancer STAR Act HR 3119 Palliative Care Hospice Education and Training Act S 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015 H.R. 2846 Planning Actively for Cancer Treatment (PACT) Act of 2015 S. 2511 Improving Health Information Technology Act Reforms to the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Act
Client expense: $92,141 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
S 318, HR 531 Accelerating Biomedical Research Act HR 744, S 320 Medical Innovation Act (Swear Jar bill) HR 777 Permanent Investment in Health Research Act HR 6 21st Century Cures S 289, HR 2104 American Cures Act HR 2101 Research for All Act S 1077 Advancing Breakthrough Devices for Patients HR 2337 To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize priority review for breakthrough devices HR 160 Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 (to repeal the ACA medical device tax) S2014 HR3466 Next Generation Researchers Act HR 3171 HR 3215 HR 3429 S 1917 legislation relating to the regulation of fetal tissue research HR639 Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act (signed into law) HR 2820 Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015 (signed into law) HR 2646 S1945 Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 HR 3731, S 2030 Rare Disease Fund Act of 2015 HR 3729 Limit Fetal Tissue Research S 2141 Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015 or TRUST It Act (with respect to health information technology) S 2624 National Biomedical Research Act S 1878 Advancing Hope Act of 2015 S 2512 Adding Zika Virus to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act S 1101 Medical Electronic Data Technology Enhancement for Consumers' Health Act S 1767 Combination Product Regulatory Fairness Act of 2015 S 1597 Patient-Focused Impact Assessment Act of 2015 S 2055 Medical Countermeasure Innovation Act of 2016 S 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S 1622 FDA Device Accountability Act S 849 Advancing Research for Neurological Diseases Act of 2015 S 800 Enhancing the Stature and Visibility of Medical Rehabilitation Research at the NIH Act S 2700 FDA and NIH Workforce Authorities Modernization Act S 2713 Advancing Precision Medicine Act of 2016 S 2745 NIH Strategic Plan and Inclusion in Clinical Research S 2472 Promoting Biomedical Research and Public Health for Patients Act (to reduce regulatory burden on NIH-funded researchers)
Client expense: $15,681 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Physician payment policy including implementation of H.R.2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and S.737, the Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act; electronic health record incentive program policy; value-based payment modifier policy; mental health reform policy proposals, including H.R.2646 and S.1945; hospital readmissions program policy, including H.R.1343 and S.688; policies related to health information technology, including S.2141; and H.R. 4848, the Healthy Inpatient Procedures Act of 2016.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 270 - Flexibility in Health IT Reporting, Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program, Electronic Health Records, Interoperability, Telehealth, HR 6 - 21st Century Cures Act, HR 3309- Further Flexibility in Health IT Reporting and Advancing Interoperability Act, S. 2141 - TRUST-IT, Patient Identification, S. 2425, S. 2511 - Improving Health Information Technology Act, HR 5001/ S.2822 - Flexibility in EHR Reporting Act
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Science/Technology
Health Software Regulation, Cybersecurity, Electronic Health Records, Patient Safety, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, S.2141- TRUST-IT Act, Patient Identification, Patient Idenitification, Medical Device Interoperability
Client expense: $10,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 1707, Access to Frontline Health Care Act, all sections H.R. 1741, Truth in Health Marketing Act, all sections H.R. 1190, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections S. 141, Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, all sections P.L. 111-192, Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010, all sections related to physicians and vision P.L. 111-148 Affordable Care Act, modifications: 1. Reducing regulatory/costly burdens on medical practices - relief from regulatory penalties 2. Preserving patient access to office ancillary testing services 3. Essential Benefits - Children's Vision 4. Independent Payment Advisory Board H.R. 1312, National Health Service Corps Improvement Act Meaningful Use/EHR program issues P.L. 113-54, Drug Quality & Security Act, all sections Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93) ASC Quality Reporting Program Medicare Advantage plan network adequacy H.R. 270, FlexIT Act, all sections H.R. 3309, Flex IT 2 Act, all sections H.R. 3940, Meaningful Use Hardship Relief Act S. 2141, Trust IT Act 2016 Physician Schedule Rule, sections pertaining to fee cuts Drug Price Increases Medicare Part B Drug Demonstration Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (PL114-10) S.2777, Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures
Client expense: $230,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Interoperability Meaningful Use Electronic Medical Records HR 6 -- 21st Century Cures S 2141 - TRUST IT Act S 2511 - Improving Health IT Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $36,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Health care quality; physician and hospital quality; health care reform implementation; medical liability reform; Physician Sunshine/Open Payments; informed consent and FDA-related research; unique device identifier policy and postmarket surveillance for medical devices; Medical Device User Fee Act reauthorization; clinical data registries; the Common Rule and registries; HIPAA and registries; federal funding/appropriations for HHS, NIH, AHRQ, CDC, HRSA, FDA, medical research, and prevention; healthy diet/lifestyle; HR 6, 21st Century Cures Act and Senate HELP companion legislation, Healthier Americans; data blocking/interoperability of electronic data - Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate HELP Committee; S 2141, TRUST-IT Act; health disparities; minority representation in clinical trials; HR 4152, the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2015; HR 3952/S 2248, the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2015; S 2511, the Improving Health Information Technology Act; HR 1859/S 2782 Ensuring Childrens Access to Specialty Care Act.
Client expense: $360,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), Agriculture, Dept of (USDA), Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE, White House Office
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to the quality of cancer care; Health reform implementation issues pertaining to the regulation and coverage of cancer care and treatments; Issues pertaining to average sales price;Issues pertaining to health disparities in cancer care; Issues pertaining to the development of cancer therapies; Issues pertaining to health information technology [S.2141 - TRUST IT Act]; S.524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology, proposed regulation of medical software, proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, TRUST IT Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
Incentives for health information technology, proposed regulation of medical software, proposals to promote healthcare interoperability, and other healthcare policy issues. S. 1101, MEDTECH Act; S. 2141, Trust IT Act.
Client expense: $515,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE