Loading…
Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Legislative Progress
Introduced
February 26, 2015
Latest Action
December 11, 2015
Primary Sponsor
Benjamin L. CardinDemocratic(MD)
Momentum (last 30 days)
0
score
0 actions · 0 new cosponsors · 0 votes
Speed vs cohort
94pct
288d open
vs 3,548 other S bills in the 114th — cohort avg 43d
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on November 16, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to revise the length of the emergency psychiatric demonstration project under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act that is currently limited to three years. Participation in the demonstration project shall be extended through FY2016 for any requesting states selected for eligibility to participate on or before March 13, 2012, if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) certify, that a state's participation is projected not to increase net Medicaid program spending. An additional extension through December 31, 2019, may be granted to a state, and the number of states eligible to participate may be expanded through December 31, 2019, if the same fiscal criteria are met. HHS shall review annually each participating state's demonstration project expenditures to ensure budget neutrality. If a state's net programming spending has increased as a result of its participation in the project, HHS shall treat the excess expenditures as an overpayment under Medicaid. This bill also revises certain limitations on federal funding. HHS must submit recommendations to Congress: (1) first on whether the demonstration project should be continued after September 30, 2016, (2) whether it should be expanded to additional states, (3) subsequently on whether it should be permanently continued after December 31, 2019, in one or more states, and (4) finally on whether the demonstration project should be expanded (including on a nationwide basis). $100,000 shall be available for the project from unobligated balances of amounts available in the CMS Program Management account.
These links require the bill number to appear in the filing's source-reported specific issue text. Client expenses and lobbying-firm income are separate disclosure fields.
Filing registrants (10)
Became Public Law No: 114-97.
Became Public Law No: 114-97.
Signed by President.
Signed by President.
Presented to President.
Presented to President.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Senate bill by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8175; text as Senate agreed to the House amendment: CR S8175)
Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Senate bill by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S8175; text as Senate agreed to the House amendment: CR S8175)
Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendment to Senate bill.
Bills with similar content found using semantic analysis.
Sources: Congress.gov
2017 · third_quarter · Health Issues
-- Advocacy on children's mental health issues -- Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act (114th Cong.)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2017 · second_quarter · Health Issues
-- Advocacy on children's mental health issues -- Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act (114th Cong.)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2017 · first_quarter · Health Issues
-- Advocacy on children's mental health issues -- Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act (114th Cong.)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.
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 · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule.
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
H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 P.L.114-10-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015
Client expense: $462,139 · Firm income: Not reported
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.34-21st Century Cures Act H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.953-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1641-Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1818-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.1877-Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 H.R.2050-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2463-Dispose Responsibly of your Pills (DROP) Act of 2015 H.R.2536-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2805-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.2872-Opioid Addiction Treatment Modernization Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3014-Medical Controlled Substances Transportation Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3250-DXM Abuse Prevention Act of 2015 H.R.3299-Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 H.R.3677-Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 H.R.3680-Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdose Act of 2015 H.R.3681-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act H.R.3682-Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 H.R.3691-Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.3865-Cradle Act H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4063-Promoting Responsible Opioid Management and Incorporating Scientific Expertise Act H.R.4150-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act H.R.4365-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.4447-Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act H.R.4499-Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 H.R.4599-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4641-To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes. H.R.4697-Prevevent Drug Addiction Act of 2016 H.R.4771-Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2016 H.R.4732-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 H.R.5243-Zika Response Appropriations Act H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 H.Res.877-Encouraging each State to enact legislation that increases the likelihood of survival after sudden cardiac arrest in our Nation's schools. S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.425-Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.453-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.524-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.636-Increasing the Safety of Prescription Drug Use Act of 2015 S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.711-Mental Health First Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.954-FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1134-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 S.1392-Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act S.1410-Treatment and Recovery Investment Act S.1431-Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1455-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 S.2045-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 S.2256-Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2562-Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act S.2567-Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act of 2016 S.2578-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 S.2597-Medicare Mental Health Access Act S.2671-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2687-Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act S.2932-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 S. 3407, Military Injury Surgical Systems Integrated Operationally Nationwide to Achieve ZERO Preventable Deaths (MISSION ZERO) Act P.L.114-10-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 P.L.114-324-Justice for All Reauthorization Act
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule; Support S. 3173 EHR Regulatory Relief Act, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 90-day EHR reporting period for the determination of whether an eligible professional or eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user and to remove the all-or-nothing approach to meaningful use; Support for H.R. 5713, The Sustaining Healthcare Integrity and Fair Treatment Act of 2016, a bill that would extend 25% rule relief and provide targeted relief to certain LTCHs struggling to meet the new criteria standards; Support for H.R. 6174, the Closing Loopholes for Orphan Drugs Act, a bill to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to limit the orphan drug exclusion under the drug discount program under section 340B of such title.
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.953-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1641-Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1818-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.1877-Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 H.R.2050-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2463-Dispose Responsibly of your Pills (DROP) Act of 2015 H.R.2536-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2805-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.2872-Opioid Addiction Treatment Modernization Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3014-Medical Controlled Substances Transportation Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3250-DXM Abuse Prevention Act of 2015 H.R.3299-Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 H.R.3677-Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 H.R.3680-Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdose Act of 2015 H.R.3681-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act H.R.3682-Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 H.R.3691-Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.3865-Cradle Act H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4063-Promoting Responsible Opioid Management and Incorporating Scientific Expertise Act H.R.4150-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act H.R.4365-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.4447-Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act H.R.4499-Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 H.R.4599-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4641-To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes. H.R.4697-Prevevent Drug Addiction Act of 2016 H.R.4771-Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2016 H.R.4732-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 H.R.5243-Zika Response Appropriations Act H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.425-Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.453-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.524-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.636-Increasing the Safety of Prescription Drug Use Act of 2015 S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.711-Mental Health First Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.954-FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1134-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 S.1392-Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act S.1410-Treatment and Recovery Investment Act S.1431-Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1455-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 S.2045-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 S.2256-Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2562-Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act S.2567-Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act of 2016 S.2578-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 S.2597-Medicare Mental Health Access Act S.2671-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2687-Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act S.2932-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 P.L.114-10-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015
2016 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 P.L.114-10-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015
Client expense: $512,329 · Firm income: Not reported
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Letter to Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Statement for the record to Senate Finance Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365/ S. 2932, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care;Supported House and Senate letters to CMS asking for flexibility when interpreting section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Support HR 5547, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016, a bill to require the sharing of health care price information; Support HR 5273, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016, a bill to address outstanding issues with section 603 of the BBA of 2015 and provide for a socioeconomic adjustment to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program; Supported a letter to CMS on implementation of Sec. 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Acts site neutral cuts for off-campus HOPDs; Support H. res. 699 promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2016; Support H.R.4641 - a bill to provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; Support H.R. 4982, the Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill which would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate and report on the capacity, availability and need for inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid use disorders in the United States; Supports H.R. 3680, the Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdoses Act of 2015, a bill would establish federal grants to carry out co-prescribing of overdose reversal drugs in areas experiencing significant numbers of opioid overdoses and deaths; Support H.R. 3691, the Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015, a bill that would reauthorize essential residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women and provide grants to states to address the growing epidemic of infants suffering from opioid dependency; Support H.R. 4978, the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act, a bill which would require a GAO evaluation of neonatal abstinence syndrome and the availability of treatment for this condition in the nations Medicaid programs; Support H.R. 4599, the Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016, a bill to permit partial filling of schedule II prescriptions under specific circumstances; Support H.R. 4976, the Opioid Review Modernization Act of 2016, a bill which would provide for more stringent Food and Drug Administration review of new opioids without abuse-deterrent properties, recommendations for labeling of pediatric opioids, and recommendations for prescriber education; Support the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2016, a bill for achieving fair and sustainable drug pricing; Supporting full alignment of 42CFR substance use records confidentiality requirements with HIPAA privacy rule.
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016
Client expense: $217,135 · Firm income: Not reported
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.953-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1641-Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1818-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.1877-Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 H.R.2050-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2463-Dispose Responsibly of your Pills (DROP) Act of 2015 H.R.2536-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2799-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act H.R.2805-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.2872-Opioid Addiction Treatment Modernization Act H.R.2948-Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015 H.R.3014-Medical Controlled Substances Transportation Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3250-DXM Abuse Prevention Act of 2015 H.R.3299-Strengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 H.R.3677-Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 H.R.3680-Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdose Act of 2015 H.R.3681-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act H.R.3682-Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 H.R.3691-Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.3865-Cradle Act H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4063-Promoting Responsible Opioid Management and Incorporating Scientific Expertise Act H.R.4150-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act H.R.4365-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.4447-Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act H.R.4499-Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 H.R.4599-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4641-To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes. H.R.4697-Prevevent Drug Addiction Act of 2016 H.R.4771-Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2016 H.R.4732-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 H.R.5243-Zika Response Appropriations Act H.R.5273-Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care H.R.5284-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016 H.R.5547-Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.425-Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.453-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.524-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.636-Increasing the Safety of Prescription Drug Use Act of 2015 S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.711-Mental Health First Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.954-FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1134-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 S.1392-Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act S.1410-Treatment and Recovery Investment Act S.1431-Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1455-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act S.1465-Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 S.2045-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 S.2256-Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2562-Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act S.2567-Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act of 2016 S.2578-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 S.2597-Medicare Mental Health Access Act S.2671-Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016 S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2687-Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act S.2932-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 S.2985-World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016
2016 · second_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · second_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including implementation of S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with Members of Congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients;Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome; Discussed S.1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning treatment; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948, Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Support HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule; Discussion with CMS about the Emergency Preparedness final rule; Discussion with CMS regarding the 0.2 percent reduction to hospitals payments under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS); Support S. 524, the Johnson amendment and the Collins amendment, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, a bill to authorize the Attorney General to award grants to address the national epidemics of prescription opioid abuse and heroin use; Support H.R. 4499, Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove consideration of certain pain-related issues from calculations under the Medicare hospital value-based purchasing program; Support S. 2220, The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or Healthy MOM Act guarantees maternity coverage for women who are enrolled in the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, as well as women who are covered by individual and group insurance plans and federal employee health benefit plans; Comments to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on how to improve the physician self-referral (Stark) law; Urged CMS to delay the April 2016 release of the hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Supported House and Senate letters urging CMS to delay release of hospital star ratings on the Hospital Compare Website; Support H.R. 4771, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, a bill that would reduce health care costs and promote access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Comments on Senate HELP Committee draft legislation addressing health information technology (IT) and electronic health records (EHRs); Comments to CMS regarding addressing section 603 of the BBA of 2015 in regulation; Comments to House Energy & Commerce Committee regarding section 603 of the BBA of 2015 as well as site neutral payment policies in general; Statement for the record to House Energy & Commerce Committee on MACRA implementation; Comments to the Senate Finance Committee Chronic Care document -Conversations with the CDC related to their opioid guidelines for chronic pain as well as a patient education piece about opioids; Discussions with CMS about CAH designation status Health Care Issues; Discussions with Rep. Hudson about H.R. 4365, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act , a bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services; Support H.R. 4650 and S. 2108, Preserving Patient Access to Post-Acute Hospital Care Act of 2016, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an extension of certain Medicare long-term care hospital payment rules; Supported efforts to encourage Congress to send CMS letters on addressing the issue of colocation of facilities within a hospital; Discussions with Members of Congress on the potential implementation of Unique Device Identification on claims forms; Sponsored a Hill briefing on innovations in post-acute care.
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Natl Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 S. 1945 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S. 2680 - Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S. 524 - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2016 · first_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 4277: Medicare Mental Health Access Act. Legislation to amend Medicares Physician Definition, to provide for treatment of clinical psychologists as physicians for purposes of furnishing clinical psychologist services under the Medicare Program. S. 2597: Medicare Mental Health Access Act. Legislation to amend Medicares Physician Definition, to provide for treatment of clinical psychologists as physicians for purposes of furnishing clinical psychologist services under the Medicare Program. S. 599: Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015. A bill to extend and expand the Medicaid emergency psychiatric demonstration project. S. 1509: Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2015. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the coordination of programs to prevent and treat obesity, and for other purposes. S. 2484, H.R. 4442: CONNECT for Health Act. A bill to amend titles XVIII and XI of the Social Security Act to promote cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, and for other purposes. H.R. 2404: Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2015. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the coordination of programs to prevent and treat obesity, and for other purposes. S. 298, H.R. 546: Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015. To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to provide States with the option of providing services to children with medically complex conditions under the Medicaid program and Children's Health Insurance Program through a care coordination program focused on improving health outcomes for children with medically complex conditions and lowering costs, and for other purposes. S.2525, H.R. 4567: Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act. A bill to increase the number of States that may conduct Medicaid demonstration programs to improve access to community mental health services.
2016 · first_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016
Client expense: $661,366 · Firm income: Not reported
2016 · first_quarter · Health Issues
H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.290-Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.953-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1641-Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1818-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.1877-Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 H.R.2050-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 H.R.2298-Medicare Patient Safety and Drug Abuse Prevention Act H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2463-Dispose Responsibly of your Pills (DROP) Act of 2015 H.R.2536-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2805-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.2872-Opioid Addiction Treatment Modernization Act H.R.3014-Medical Controlled Substances Transportation Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3250-DXM Abuse Prevention Act of 2015 H.R.3379-Airplane Kids In Transit Safety (KITS) Act of 2015 H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 H.R.3677-Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 H.R.3680-Co-Prescribing to Reduce Overdose Act of 2015 H.R.3681-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act H.R.3682-Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 H.R.3691-Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.3865-Cradle Act H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4063-Promoting Responsible Opioid Management and Incorporating Scientific Expertise Act H.R.4150-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act H.R.4365-Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4435-Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 H.R.4447-Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act H.R.4499-Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 H.R.4599-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 H.R.4641-To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes. H.R.4697-Prevevent Drug Addiction Act of 2016 H.R.4771-Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.425-Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.453-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.524-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.636-Increasing the Safety of Prescription Drug Use Act of 2015 S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.711-Mental Health First Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.954-FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1134-Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 S.1392-Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act S.1410-Treatment and Recovery Investment Act S.1431-Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1455-Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1913-Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 S.2045-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 S.2256-Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.2525-Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act S.2562-Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act S.2567-Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act of 2016 S.2578-Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 S.2597-Medicare Mental Health Access Act S.2680-Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 S.2687-Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, it is a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with members of congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients; Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome;Discussed S. 1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning; Supported expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund; Support the H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER Act), a bill to provide that the Federal Trade Commission shall exercise authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General exercises such authority; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Support HR 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act (MEND Act), a bill to enable hospital-based nursing programs that are affiliated with a hospital to maintain payments under the Medicare program to hospitals for the costs of such programs;Urged that HHS refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals in discussion about member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official that were confusing during a health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948 Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Comment on HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Testified at three Insurance Consolidation Hearings to discuss the impact of the proposed acquisitions involving Aetna/ Humana and Anthem/Cigna; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893, The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015, a bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders; Letter asking for modifications to H.R. 3298 Medicare Post-Acute Care Value-Based Purchasing (PAC VBP) Act of 2015, the legislation would establish a value-based purchasing program for LTCHs, IRFs, SNFs and HH agencies. Worked to streamline and improve quality measures; Discussed how to implement the framework in the National Academy of Medicines Vital Signs report to streamline and focus quality measures used in Medicare programs; Discussed Opioid prescribing guidelines with the CDC to provide feedback on the opioid prescribing guidelines they were developing; Discussion with CMS regarding CAH designation status, negative impact of Insurance Consolidations on Medicare Advantage and for modifications to Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model regarding aspects of the proposed rule.
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Medical liability reform (H.R. 836/S. 884) Mental health & opioid abuse policy (S. 599, H.R. 2646, S. 1893, S. 799/H.R. 1462, ) 340B discount drug program Chronic care policy Nurse education policy (H.R. 977 / H.R. 1784 / S. 629, H.R. 2713)
Client expense: $73,623 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2015 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 2446- Electronic verification of home care services HR 3696- Medicare Premium Fairness Act of 2015 S 2148- Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2015 HR 3762- Reconciliation bill to repeal health care reform S 599- Improving access to emergency inpatient psychiatric care Improving access to and quality of developmental health care services Safe Patient Handling Improving Access to Quality Home Care Services Medicaid funding and benefits Medicare funding, benefits, policy, eligibility age, means tests, equitable spending across jurisdictions
Client expense: $640,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), Natl Labor Relations Board (NLRB), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), White House Office
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2015 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.203-Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.876-Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1786-James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act H.R.1818-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.1877-Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 H.R.2050-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3379-Airplane Kids In Transit Safety (KITS) Act of 2015 H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 H.R.3681-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act H.R.3682-Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act H.R.4150-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.167-Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act S.425-Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.453-Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.711-Mental Health First Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.810-SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.928-James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 S.2045-Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act
2015 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 H.R.3762-Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 H.R.3770-End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 H.R.4059-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1778-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 S.2297-Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act
Client expense: $374,793 · Firm income: Not reported
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 6, 21st Century Cures Act. H.R. 1314, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. H.R. 1343/S.688, Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015 H.R 1479, Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoggle Act. H.R. 2126, To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 in implementing the HIPAA code set standards. H.R. 2156, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to reform the practices of recovery audit contractors under the Medicare program, and for other purposes. H.R.3018, Code-FLEX Act of 2015. S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act. S. 1461, A bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015. S. 1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act. CMS-1613-FC, Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; Physician-Owned Hospitals: Data Sources for Expansion Exception; Physician Certification of Inpatient Hospital Services; Medicare Advantage Organizations and Part D Sponsors: CMS-Identified Overpayments Associated with Submitted Payment Data, Final Rule. CMS-1621-P, Medicare Program: Medicare Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests Payment System; Proposed Rule. CMS-3310-FC, Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive Program, Stage 3; Final Rule Additional Comments. CMS-9937-P, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017; Proposed Rule. EPA-HQ- RCRA-2007-0932; Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals; Proposed Rule. RIN Number 0945-AA02, Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities; Proposed Rule. RIN 0906-AB08, 340B Drug Pricing Program Omnibus Guidance.
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2015 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
- Sent documents and data describing and presenting the impetus for a Missouri initiative on standards for the prescribing of opioids to health staff of the Missouri congressional delegation - Received a query from a Missouri congressional office regarding hospitals reactions to the quality of care components of a discussion draft of legislation (the Hospital Improvements for Payment Act of 2014.) - Coordinated a response to a query from staffers for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The query concerned price increases for two pharmaceutical products, Isuprel and Nitropress. - Discussed the potential sponsorship by a member of the Missouri congressional delegation of legislation regarding Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors. - Researched S. 2107, the Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act, which is co-sponsored by a member of the Missouri congressional delegation. - Responded to a query from the staff of a member of the Missouri congressional delegation for a list of issues to be discussed during upcoming congressional visits. - Met with selected members of the Missouri congressional delegation. Briefing papers addressed the following topics: 1) a profile of Missouris hospitals; 2) legislation to reform the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program (H.R. 2156); 3) Medicare DSH payment reform (H.R. 3288); 4) changes to the Medicare wage index system (H.R. 1479, S. 1135); 5) legislative proposals affecting rural hospitals (H.R. 3225, H.R. 2948, H.R. 2066, H.R. 169, S. 258, H.R. 1611, S. 257, section 3021 of H.R. 6); 6) protection of the 340B drug discount program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services; 7) legislation affecting behavioral health (S. 599, H.R. 2646, S. 1945, S. 1893, S. 2166); 8) regulatory standards of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Initiative; 9) the need for risk-adjustment of data used in the Medicare hospital readmissions program (S. 688 and H.R. 1343). - Corresponded with staff of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding the logistics of meetings of hospital executives and selected members of the Missouri congressional delegation - Responded to a query from a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding legislation to change the payment formulas used by the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital program. - Responded to a query from a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding legislation to revise payment formulas used by the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital program. - Requested that members of the U.S. Senate representing Missouri contact Senate leaders to express support for inclusion of legislation to revise the Medicare wage index (H.R. 1479) in legislation to enact a continuing resolution to authorize federal budgetary expenditures. - Collaborated with staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding a January 2016 committee hearing to be held in Jefferson City, Missouri. The agenda of the hearing is the abuse and misuse of opioids used for pain control in the elderly. - Corresponded with the staff of a member of the Missouri congressional delegation regarding a change in staffing responsibilities in that congressional office.
2015 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Graduate medical education funding; Children's Health Insurance Program; Recovery audit contractors; Medicaid IMD exclusion; ICD-10; Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration project, S.599.
Client expense: $100,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2015 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R.2-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.876-Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1470-SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.3081-TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act of 2015 H.R.3288-Strengthening DSH and Medicare Through Subsidy Recapture and Payment Reform Act of 2015 H.R.3291-Medicare Crosswalk Hospital Code Development Act of 2015 H.R.3292-Medicare IME Pool Act of 2015 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.810-SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.1349-Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act
Client expense: $491,382 · Firm income: Not reported
2015 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.Con.Res 27-Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 H.R.2-Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.6-21st Century Cures Act H.R.33-Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act H.R.203-Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act 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. H.R.398-Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act H.R.639-Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act H.R.647-Access to Life-Saving Trauma Care for All Americans Act H.R.648-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act H.R.836-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act H.R.876-Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act H.R.1190-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.1470-SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 H.R.1571-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 H.R.1725-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R.1821-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 H.R.1854-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 H.R.2366-Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act H.R.2603-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act H.R.2646-Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R.2850-Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 H.R.3379-Airplane Kids In Transit Safety (KITS) Act of 2015 H.R.3537-Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015 S.Con.Res.11-Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 S.141-Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S.167-Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act S.480-National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 S.599-Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S.707-Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015 S.763-Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act S.810-SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 S.884-Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act S.843-Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 S.993-Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 S.1349-Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act S.1446-SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2015 S.1450-Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act S.1452-Veterans Emergency Health Safety Net Expansion Act of 2015 S.1475-Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act S.1549-Care Planning Act of 2015 S.1648-Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital (REACH) Act S.1654-Overdose Prevention Act S.1693-To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes. S.1893-Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 S.1945-Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 S.2002-Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015
2015 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S 1945- Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 Improving access to mental health care S 599- Improving access to emergency inpatient psychiatric care Improving access and quality to developmental health care services HR 1650, S 1849- Medicare Patient Empowerment Act Holding beneficiaries harmless for Part B premium increase and the deductible HR 3160- The Health Insurance for Former Foster Care Youth Act of 2015 HR 2635, S 1961- Improving the Treatment of US Territories Under Federal Health Programs Act Puerto Rico Fiscal situation Medicaid funding and benefits Medicare funding, benefits, policy, eligibility age, means tests
Client expense: $610,000 · Firm income: Not reported
2015 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Support S 258 and HR 169, Critical Access Hospital Relief Act, a bill that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals (CAHs); Support HR 293, a bill to exempt certain journals and text books used in continuing medical education (CME) from manufacturer transparency reporting requirements; Participated in the Hearing, Examining the 340B Drug Pricing Program and submitted testimony about the 340B program, a federal drug discount program to Subcommittee members who will review the functionality of the program to ensure it is meeting its intended goals; HR 6, 21st Century Cures, it is a bill that accelerates the discovery and development of cures, and also includes provisions addressing interoperability of health IT and would provide additional money to NIH and the FDA; Two midnight discussion with several members of Congress; Support, Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare Telehealth, submitted a letter outlining the benefits of telehealth and showcases successful hospital and health system efforts. It also outlines barriers to greater use of telehealth; Submitted letter pertaining to interoperabilty within the hospital communities; Support S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015, legislation easing the shortage of psychiatric beds and extend and expand the CMS emergency psychiatric demonstration project; Comments on H.R.1458, BACPAC Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and submitted a statement for a hearing on HR 1458 (re bundled payments for post-acute and other post-hospital services); Discussed Equity of Care Issues with members of congress; Advocate for funding by working with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Hospital Preparedness Program staff on ensuring adequate Ebola hospital funding; Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on ongoing Ebola-related issues and guidance; Working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that hospitals continue to be able to use blood glucose monitoring systems (BGMS) on hospitalized patients; Discussion of draft guidance on drug compounding and repackaging; Working with ASPR and CDC staff to define the impact of the Hospital Preparedness Program and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program on improving health care system preparedness; Support efforts to advocate on Ebola within a discussion with FDA regarding impact on access to chest tubes regarding the Atrium Medical Corp and Maquet consent decree ; Advocate for regulatory approach in a discussion with White House staff regarding new initiative promoting bystander involvement in stopping hemorrhage in injured civilians; Attended a roundtable discussion on Opioid-related dependence, overdose, and death at HHS; Advocate for changes to The Care Planning Act, a bill that would provide for advanced illness care coordination services for Medicare beneficiaries; Support HR 2878 and S 1461,a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Support S.799/HR 1462, Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, a bill to combat the rise of prenatal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome;Discussed S. 1349, a bill that amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital or critical access hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give each individual who receives observation services as an outpatient for more than 24 hours an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours after beginning; Submitted a statement to the Senate Commerce Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet Subcommittee hearing on Advancing Telehealth through Connectivity. The statement supports expansions to Medicare reimbursement for telehealth along with changes to the Health Care Connect Fund at the Federal Communications Commission; Support the H.R. 2745, Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER Act), a bill to provide that the Federal Trade Commission shall exercise authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General exercises such authority; Comments on S.1648, Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to create a sustainable future for rural healthcare. Support HR 1784, Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act (MEND Act), a bill to enable hospital-based nursing programs that are affiliated with a hospital to maintain payments under the Medicare program to hospitals for the costs of such programs; Submitted comments to HHS to refrain from finalizing a stage 3 meaningful use rule; Advocate for Appropriate Surveyor Guidance on Calculated Hospitals during a meeting with staff in Center for Clinical Standards and quality to discuss member concerns regarding remarks of CMS official confusing during health lawyers association webinar; Discussion with CMS staff regarding proposed rule on establishing market-based payments for clinical laboratory tests; Discussion to rescind the proposed 2 percent cut to CY 2016 outpatient PPS conversion factor; Support H.R.2948 Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, a bill to amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand telehealth coverage in three phases; Comment on HR 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015,A bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis;Spoke with Rep. Kinds office on legislation to address the opioid epidemic in America; Support HR 1604, Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act, a bill that expands access to mental health services for veterans; Support H.R. 3183, The Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, a bill which makes significant improvements to the Veterans Choice Program; Testified at three Insurance Consolidation Hearings to discuss the impact of the proposed acquisitions involving Aetna/ Humana and Anthem/Cigna; Support S 1189 The Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Conrad 30 and makes other changes to the program to improve patient access to care; Discussed quality measurement, meaningful use and Conditions of Participation; Conversation with CMS about the IOM Vital Signs report and how its recommendations could make quality measurement more meaningful; Spoke with CMS urging the Agency to correct the misimpression that was created statements made during a National Association of Medical Staff Specialists webinar by a CMS employee; Discussion with CMS about proposals contained in the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility PPS proposed rule urging CMS not to finalize two quality measures; Meeting at CMMI to discuss CCJR; Discuss S. 2141the Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform Information Technology Act of 2015, the TRUST Act, a bill that includes a definition of information blocking and a framework to assess interoperability of certified health IT (a health IT ratings program); Support S.1461 and H.R. 2878 a bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015; Oppose S. 1648 Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital ActTo establish an alternative payment model for CAHs and small, rural hospitals whereby they may transition to become a rural emergency hospital.; Oppose H.R. 3225 Save Rural Hospitals Act, a bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for enhanced payments to rural health care providers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; Discuss S. 1945 Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, a bill to make available needed psychiatric, psychological, and supportive services for individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. It would reauthorize certain federal mental health programs, revise the IMD exclusion, reform SAMHSA, and study parity in mental health laws. Support S. 1893The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015A bill to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders.
2015 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Medical liability reform (H.R. 836/S. 884) Mental health policy (S. 599, H.R. 2646, S. 1893, S. 799/H.R. 1462) Prescription drug monitoring (S. 480) Childrens Health Insurance Program Veterans Access to Care 340B discount drug program Chronic care policy Trauma Care policy (H.R. 647, H.R. 648 / S. 763) Nurse education policy (H.R. 977 / H.R. 1784 / S. 629)
Client expense: $67,490 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2015 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2015 · third_quarter · Health Issues
H.R. 2646 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 H.R. 2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 H.R. 6 - 21st Century Cures Act S. 711 - Mental Health First Act of 2015 S. 599 - Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act S. 149 - Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act H.R. 160 - Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 H.R. 1190 - Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 S. 141 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2015 H.R.3762 - Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Government Accountability Office (GAO), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), SENATE
2015 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Advocacy on childrens mental health issues, including H.R. 2646, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 and S. 1945, Mental Health Reform Act of 2015; Advocacy on Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) issues including S. 599, Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2015 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S 1945- Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 Improving access to mental health care S 599- Improving access to emergency inpatient psychiatric care Improving access and quality to developmental health care services HR 1650, S 1849- Medicare Patient Empowerment Act Holding beneficiaries harmless for Part B premium increase and the deductible HR 3160- The Health Insurance for Former Foster Care Youth Act of 2015 HR 2635, S 1961- Improving the Treatment of US Territories Under Federal Health Programs Act Puerto Rico Fiscal situation Medicaid funding and benefits Medicare funding, benefits, policy, eligibility age, means tests
Client expense: $600,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H8176-8177)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H8176-8177)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 599.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8176-8180)
Mr. Pitts moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6979-6980; text as passed Senate: CR S6979-6980)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S6979-6980; text as passed Senate: CR S6979-6980)
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 180.
Committee on Finance. Reported by Senator Hatch with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-101.
Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1168-1169; text of measure as introduced: CR S1169-1170)
Introduced in Senate
| July 30, 2015 |
| Introduced in Senate | February 26, 2015 |
| Enrolled Bill | -- |
| Democratic |
| MO |
| Debbie Stabenow | Democratic | MI |
| Jeff Sessions | Republican | AL |
| Joe Manchin, III | Independent | WV |
| Patrick J. Toomey | Republican | PA |
| Richard Burr | Republican | NC |
| Roy Blunt | Republican | MO |
| Sheldon Whitehouse | Democratic | RI |
| Shelley Moore Capito | Republican | WV |
| Sherrod Brown | Democratic | OH |
| Susan M. Collins | Republican | ME |
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $462,139 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
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
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
Client expense: $512,329 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
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
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $217,135 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $5,120,000 · 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
Client expense: $83,647 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $661,366 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $4,800,000 · 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
Client expense: $374,793 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $253,175 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), SENATE, Social Security Administration (SSA)
Client expense: $60,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Client expense: $491,382 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), Natl Labor Relations Board (NLRB), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, White House Office
Client expense: $4,020,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 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
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), Natl Labor Relations Board (NLRB), SENATE, Treasury, Dept of, White House Office