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Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act
Legislative Progress
Introduced
February 8, 2022
Latest Action
February 8, 2022
Primary Sponsor
Catherine Cortez MastoDemocratic(NV)
Momentum (last 30 days)
0
score
0 actions · 0 new cosponsors · 0 votes
Speed vs cohort
0pct
0d open
vs 5,357 other S bills in the 117th — cohort avg 38d
Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act This bill expands and otherwise modifies coverage of telehealth services under Medicare until two years after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Specifically, the bill (1) allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner), (2) allows for Medicare payment of outpatient critical access hospital services consisting of telehealth behavioral therapy, (3) conditions payment for certain high-cost laboratory tests and durable medical equipment that are ordered via telehealth on at least one in-person visit during the preceding 12-month period, and (4) allows Schedule II through V controlled substances to be prescribed online if a practitioner has conducted a telehealth evaluation with video. The bill also generally extends any Medicare telehealth flexibilities that were granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency until two years after the emergency ends. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must report on the effects of changes that were made during the emergency period with respect to the provision or availability of telehealth services under Medicare. The CMS must also award grants to state Medicaid programs to allow them to report on similar information.
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Filing registrants (34)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Bills with similar content found using semantic analysis.
Sources: Congress.gov
2024 · fourth_quarter · Natural Resources
Public land, energy, and natural resources issues generally H.R. 3173, Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S. 4457, Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S.3593, Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, energy provisions Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Designation Implementation Monitoring any federal actions relating to Bahsahwahbee National Monument S. 4828 - Bahsahwahbee National Monument Act Implementation Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2024 · fourth_quarter · Natural Resources
Public land, energy, and natural resources issues generally H.R. 3173, Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S. 4457, Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S.3593, Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, energy provisions Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Designation Implementation Monitoring any federal actions relating to Bahsahwahbee National Monument S. 4828 - Bahsahwahbee National Monument Act Implementation Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2024 · fourth_quarter · Natural Resources
Public land, energy, and natural resources issues generally H.R. 3173, Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S. 4457, Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S.3593, Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, energy provisions Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Designation Implementation Monitoring any federal actions relating to Bahsahwahbee National Monument S. 4828 - Bahsahwahbee National Monument Act Implementation Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2024 · third_quarter · Natural Resources
Public land, energy, and natural resources issues generally H.R. 3173, Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S. 4457, Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act S.3593, Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, energy provisions Avi Kwa Ame National Monument Designation Implementation Monitoring the proposed designation of national monuments in Nevada, including the Bahsahwahbee National Monument Implementation Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $40,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2023 · first_quarter · Health Issues
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth ExpansionAct (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S.3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
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2023 · first_quarter · Telecommunications
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth ExpansionAct (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S.3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2023 · first_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth ExpansionAct (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S.3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · second_quarter · Health Issues
S. 253, Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, all provisions H.R. 6087, Improving Access to Workers Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 3085, Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimers Clinical Trials (ENACT) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 5030, Diversifying Investigations Via Equitable Research Studies for Everyone (DIVERSE) Trials Act, all provisions H.R. 1384, Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act of 2021, all provisions S. 445, Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 2067, Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2235, Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 6072, Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities (LINC) To Address Social Needs Act of 2021, provisions relating to social determinants of health, impact on mental health and social services S. 509, Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities (LINC) To Address Social Needs Act of 2021, provisions relating to social determinants of health, impact on mental health and social services H.R. 379, Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2021, all provisions S. 104, Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2021, all provisions S. 3799, Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and (PREVENT) Pandemics Act, all provisions H.R. 8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 1446, Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, all provisions S. 1675, Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act, all provisions H.R. 2163, Safe Step Act, all provisions S. 464, Safe Step Act, all provisions H.R. 666, Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2021, all provisions S. 162, Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 5248, Temporary Responders for Immediate Aid in Grave Emergencies (TRIAGE) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 6311, Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2021, all provisions S. 3418, Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 1364, Parity Enforcement Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 3735, Parity Implementation Assistance Act, all provisions H.R. 7232, 9-8-8 and Parity Assistance Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7116, 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022, all provisions S. 2938, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, all provisions S. 4090, Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022, all provisions S. 1675, Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act, all provisions H.R. 1667, Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, all provisions S. 610, Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, all provisions H.R. 3753, Parity Implementation Assistance Act, all provisions S. 1962, Parity Implementation Assistance Act, all provisions S. 3904, Healthcare Cybersecurity Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 4128, Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2209, Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 6000, Cures 2.0 Act, all provisions S. 2416, New Opportunities for Value that Extend Lives (NOVEL) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 8152, To provide consumers with foundational data privacy rights, create strong oversight mechanisms, and establish meaningful enforcement, all provisions H.R. 2377, Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7910, Protecting Our Kids Act, all provisions S. 2938, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, all provisions H.R. 7667, Food and Drug Amendments of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7666, Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 2503, Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021, all provisions S. 3039, Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7192, Diagnostic Device Advisory Committee Act, all provisions H.R. 3085, Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimers Clinical Trials (ENACT) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 5218, Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, all provisions H.R. 7845, NIH Clinical Trial Diversity Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 708, Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, all provisions S. 168, Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, all provisions H.R. 4480, Telehealth Coverage and Payment Parity Act, all provisions H.R. 7573, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, all provisions S. 3593, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, all provisions H.R. 5541, Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act, all provisions H.R. 1306, National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021, all provisions S. 412, National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 1843, COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, all provisions S. 937, COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, all provisions H.R. 3778, Nullifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect and Decimate (NOVID) Act, all provisions S. 1976, Nullifying Opportunities for Variants to Infect and Decimate (NOVID) Act, all provisions H.R. 6904, Patients Before Profits Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7053, Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, all provisions S. 3792, Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, all provisions H.R. 1364, Parity Enforcement Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 5224, Preventing Overdoses and Saving Lives Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 6279, Opioid Treatment Access Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7234, Summer Barrow Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act, all provisions H.R. 3352, Midwives for MOMS Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 847, Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act, all provisions S. 224, Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act, all provisions H.R. 3771, South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7559, Prescription Information Modernization Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 8289, Banning Misleading Drug Ads Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 3614, Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2021, all provisions No Surprises Act/implementation Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, all provisions 21st Century Cures Act/implementation Maternal mortality Maternal health and inequities/FY 2023 funding Prior Authorization AMA Recovery Plan for Americas Physicians/telehealth/prior authorization/physician burnout/scope Section 2527(b) of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA)/Open Access Language Retired Physician Re-entry COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities COVID-19/Vaccine distribution/Vaccines in physician offices Physician burnout and suicide COVID-19/Health Equity/vaccines COVID-19 response/testing/misinformation/therapeutics/Paxlovid Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Health Equity/Men who have sex with men/3-month blood donation use deferral Health Equity/Federally qualified health centers and clinical trials Womens Reproductive Health Medication Abortion Access Diabetes Provider Relief Fund/COVID-19 Electronic Health Records (EHR) Certification Data Privacy Hunger, Nutrition, and Health Digital Health/AI/Digital Therapeutics Monkeypox/testing/vaccination
Client expense: $4,550,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), President of the U.S., SENATE, Vice President of the U.S., White House Office
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Telemedicine legislation including H.R. 2903, S. 1512 - CONNECT for Health Act; H.R. 1332, S. 368 Telehealth Modernization Act; H.R. 366 -Protecting Access to Post-COVID Telehealth Act; H.R. 4058, S. 2061 - Telemental Health Care Access Act; H.R. 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act;H.R. 1647, S. 340 - TREATS Act; H.R. 5981, S. 1704 - Telehealth Expansion Act; H.R. 7353 Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act; H.R. 7573/S. 3593 Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R. 4040 Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act; H.R. 2617 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $60,000
Government targets: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Telecommunications
Issues relating to the Universal Service Fund, including High-Cost Fund, Connect America Fund, Mobility Fund, the Lifeline Program, and determining wireless broadband coverage maps Issues relating to Spectrum, including Federal Spectrum, Licensed and Unlicensed Spectrum Issues relating to Spectrum Auctions Issues relating to Device Exclusivity and Availability Issues related to Data Roaming Issues relating to Public Safety, E-911, NG-911, and Location Accuracy Issues relating to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Authority and Process Issues relating to National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Authority and Process Issues relating to Privacy Issues relating to Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Issues relating to Rural Broadband Issues relating to Infrastructure Deployment and Siting, Including on Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Lands Issues relating to Robocalls and Related Activities Issues relating to Implementation of the RAY BAUMS Act in P.L. 115-141 Issues relating to Telecommunication Workforce Issues relating to the Internet of Things Issues relating to the CARES Act Issues relating to the Consolidated Appropriations Act Issues relating to the American Rescue Plan Act Issues related to Technological Competitiveness and Cybersecurity H.R. 678, Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies (PHONE) Act - issues relating to numbering H.R. 870, National Broadband Plan for the Future Act - issues relating to FCC Authority and Process H.R. 1032, Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act - issues relating to telecommunication workforce H.R. 1038, Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1039, Coastal Broadband Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1043, Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1045, Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1046, Federal Broadband Deployment in Unserved Areas Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1047, Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2021- Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1049, Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1050, Connecting Communities Post Disasters - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting and public safety H.R. 1051, Barriers and Regulatory Obstacles Avoids Deployment of Broadband Access and Needs Deregulatory (BROADBAND) Leadership Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1053, Timely Replacement Under Secure and Trusted for Early and Dependable (TRUSTED) Broadband Networks Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1055, Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1058, Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1056, Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1060, Winning the International Race for Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support (WIRELESS) Leadership Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1067, Standard Fees to Expedite Evaluation and Streamlining (Standard FEES) Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1069, Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment (SPEED) of Broadband Infrastructure Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1073, Wildfire Wireless Resiliency Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting and public safety H.R. 1074, Reducing Antiquated Permitting for Infrastructure Deployment (RAPID) Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1084, Brownfields Broadband Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1141, Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1156, Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy (DIGITAL) Applications Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1218/S.198, Data Mapping to Save Moms Lives Act - issues relating to wireless broadband coverage maps H.R. 1250, Emergency Reporting Act - issues relating to public safety H.R. 1525, Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy (DIGITAL) Applications Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1590, Tribal Internet Expansion Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1631, Community Broadband Act - Issues relating to FCC Authority and Process H.R. 1673/S. 724, To require the Federal Communications Commission to make the provision of Wi-Fi access on school buses eligible for E-rate support. - issues relating to the Universal Service Fund H.R. 1700, To establish a broadband infrastructure finance and innovation program to make available loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit for the construction and deployment of broadband infrastructure - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1721, Enhanced Emergency Broadband Act - Issues relating to FCC Authority and Process and The American Rescue Plan Act H.R. 1783/S. 745, The Accessible Affordable, Internet for All Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1841, To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish a State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program - Issues relating to NTIA authority and process H.R. 1848, The LIFT America Act - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting H.R. 1934, Promoting US International Leadership in 5G Act - Issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 113, the BROWSER Act - issues relating to privacy S. 120, Safe Connections Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 163, Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act - issues relating to workforce S. 279, National Broadband Plan for the Future Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 326, Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act - issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 390, Emergency Reporting Act - issues relating to public safety S. 446, Kelsey Smith Act - issues relating to public safety S. 553, Government Spectrum Valuation Act - issues relating to spectrum S. 592, Broadband Reserve Fund Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 608, Keeping Critical Connections Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 741, Broadband Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (BIFIA) - Issues relating to Infrastructure deployment S. 835, A bill to provide that the Federal Communications Commission and communications service providers regulated by the Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 shall not be subject to certain provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act with respect to the construction, rebuilding, or hardening of communications facilities following a major disaster or an emergency declared by the President - Issues relating to Infrastructure siting S. 965, Cyber Shield Act - issues relating to cybersecurity S. 979, A bill to amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 to authorize additional funds for the Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund, to provide grants to States and Tribal Entities to strengthen the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier, to provide for Federal coordination between the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier and the National Accuracy Clearinghouse - issues relating to FCC process and authority and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 S. 1036, Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 996, Improving Minority Participation and Careers in Telecommunications (IMPACT) Act - issues relating to workforce S. 997, Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Act - issues relating to device availability S. 1563, The Telecommunications Supply Chain Diversity Act - issues relating to NTIA process and authority and Cybersecurity and Supply Chain S. 1676, The Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act - issues relating to infrastructure deployment S. 1790/H.R. 3919, The Secure Equipment Act of 2021 - issues relating to Cybersecurity and Supply Chain S. 1885, The Rural Connectivity Advancement Program (RCAP) Act - issues relating to Infrastructure deployment S. 1884, the Broadband Parity Act - issues relating to broadband deployment S. 2018, the Digital Equity Act of 2021 - issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 2166, Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications (RETAIN GPS) Act - issues relating to Spectrum H.R. 3003, Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2021 - issues relating to NTIA process and authority H.R. 3346, No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority H.R. 3435, The American Broadband Act - issues relating to Infrastructure deployment H.R. 3369, The Rural Broadband for America Act - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 3370, The Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 3376, The Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority H.R. 3377, Gigabit Opportunity (GO) Act - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 3703, The Nationwide Dig Once Act - issues relating to broadband infrastructure deployment H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act - issues relating to broadband infrastructure deployment H.R. 3784, Advancing Internet of Things (IoT) for Precision Agriculture Act of 2021 - issues relating to IoT H.R. 3970, The Accelerating Rural Broadband Deployment Act - Issues relating to rural broadband and infrastructure deployment H.R. 4067, Community Security Advisory Act - issues relating to Cybersecurity H.R. 4046, NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act - issues relating to cybersecurity and NTIA process and authority H.R. 4045, Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act - issues relating to FCC process and authority. H.R. 4032, Open Ran Outreach Act - Issues relating to Supply Chain H.R. 4029, TEAM TELECOM Act - issues relating to Cybersecurity and Supply Chain H.R. 4028, Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act - Issues relating to Cybersecurity, Supply Chain, and NTIA process and authority H.R. 4055, American Cybersecurity Literacy Act - issues relating to cybersecurity S. 2407, Cyber Incident Notification Act - issues relating to cybersecurity S. 2382, A bill to authorize the National Cyber Director to accept details from other elements of the Federal Government on non-reimbursable basis - issues relating to Cybersecurity S. 2427/H.R. 8575, Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (FAIR) Contributions Act - issues relating to USF S. 2474, American Telecommunications Security Act - issues relating to supply chain S. 2483, Improving Cyber Security of Small Organizations Act - issues relating to cybersecurity S. 2473, Middle Mile Broadband Deployment Act - issues relating to infrastructure S. 2668, A bill to require the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to provide assistance relating to broadband access - issues relating to broadband deployment and NTIA process and authority S. 2754, A bill to provide funding for the deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1 - issues relating to public safety S. 2911, A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide funding to States for extending broadband service to unserved areas in partnership with broadband service providers - issues relating to rural broadband S. 2979, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act - issues relating to supply chain security and NTIA process and authority H.R. 4347, To bolster certain rural broadband programs of the Department of Agriculture - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 4656, To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a new Tribal priority window for the 2.5 gigahertz band - issues relating to spectrum H.R. 4659, Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly (BROWSER) Act - issues relating to network management H.R. 4663/S.2447, Securing Universal Communications Connectivity to Ensure Students Succeed (SUCCESS) Act - issues relating to USF H.R. 4825, To establish broadband expansion grant programs - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 5028, To direct the Technological Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission to prepare a report on a 9-1-1 disability alerting system - issues relating to public safety H.R. 5058, Broadband Incentives for Communities Act - issues relating to broadband infrastructure siting and permitting H.R. 5440, The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act - issues relating to cybersecurity S. 3236/H.R. 6314, Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act of 2021 - issues relating to Universal Service Fund S. 3288, NTIA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2021 - issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 3335, Robocall Traceback Enhancement Act - issues relating to robocalls and related activities S. 3587/H.R. 7060, Connect Unserved Americans Act of 2022 - issues relating to rural broadband S. 3593,Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act - issues relating to rural broadband S. 3692,NET Act - issues relating to supply chain security H.R. 6541, Improving Cybersecurity of Small Businesses Nonprofits and Local Governments Act - issues relating to cybersecurity H.R. 6768, To amend the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority. - issues relating to public safety H.R. 6824, Presidents Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act - issues relating to cybersecurity H.R. 6982, Public Lands Telecommunications Act - issues relating H.R. 7112, Internet Exchange Act of 2022 - issues relating to rural broadband H.R. 7132, Safe Connections Act of 2022 - issues relating to public safety H.R. 7116, 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022 - issues relating to public safety H.R. 7598, Robocall Trace Back Enhancement Act - issues relating to robocalls and related activities H.R. 7642, Spectrum Innovation Act of 2022 - issues relating to spectrum H.R. 7783, Extending Americas Spectrum Auction Leadership Act of 2022 - issues relating to spectrum H.R. 8152, The American Data Privacy and Protection Act - issues relating to consumer privacy H.R. 7900, The FY23 National Defense Authorization Act - issues relating to spectrum S. 4117, the Spectrum Innovation Act of 2022 - issues relating to spectrum S. 4126, the Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2022 - issues relating to Universal Service Fund. H.R. 4521, United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021/America COMPETES Act of 2022 - issues relating to Supply Chain S. 4676/H.R. 8573, Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act of 2022 - issues relating to FCC Authority and Process S. 4685, Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2023 - issues relating to FCC Process and Authority S. 4661, Agriculture Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2023 - issues relating to rural broadband S. 4664, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2023 - issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 4763, GRID Broadband Act of 2022 - issues related to infrastructure S. 4767/H.R. 8679, PLAN for Broadband Act - issues relating to NTIA process and authority S. 4968, A bill to create an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network - issues relating to FCC process and authority S. 5001/H.R. 9343, a bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve access by Indian Tribes to support from Universal Service programs of the FCC - issues relating to Universal Service Fund S. 5021/H.R. 9449, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain broadband grants from gross income - issues related to infrastructure deployment S. 5127/H.R. 3898, Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act - Issues relating to privacy S. 5137, Rural Internet Improvement Act - issues relating to rural broadband and infrastructure deployment S. 5239/H.R. 9490, Neutralizing Emerging Threats from Wireless OEMs Receiving direction from Kleptocracies and Surveillance states (NETWORKS) Act - Issues relating to cybersecurity and supply chain S. 5321, Deploying the Internet by Guaranteeing Indian Tribes Autonomy over Licensing (DIGITAL) on Reservations Act - Issues relating to Spectrum, including Federal Spectrum, Licensed and Unlicensed Spectrum H.R. 4275, Ensuring Phone and Internet Access Through Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Program Act of 2022 - Issues relating to the Universal Service Fund, including High-Cost Fund, Connect America Fund, Mobility Fund, the Lifeline Program, and determining wireless broadband coverage maps H.R. 9129/S. 4368, American Technology Leadership Act - Issues related to technological competitiveness and cybersecurity H.R. 9236, Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act - Issues relating to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Authority and Process, cybersecurity and supply chain H.R. 9356, Resources for Emergency and Security Infrastructure Logistics In Every Neighborhood to Curb Extremism (RESILIENCE) Act of 2022 - Issues relating to Infrastructure, cybersecurity and supply chain H.R. 9569, Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications (ALERT) Parity Act - Issues relating to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Authority and Process H.R.7776, James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 - Issues relating to cybersecurity and supply chain H.R.2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 - Issues relating to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Authority and Process, issues relating to National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Authority and Process H.R.6833, Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 - Issues relating to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Authority and Process, issues relating to National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Authority and Process, Issues relating to Spectrum Auctions
Client expense: $180,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Healthcare issues related to clinical laboratories; H.R. 8188/S. 4449, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), provisions relating to reform of Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory services under Section 216 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, Pub. L. 113-93; H.R. 4128/S. 2209, the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act, included as Subtitle C of Title VIII of S. 4348, the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements Act (FDASLA), provisions relating to FDA oversight of laboratory-developed tests; H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, H.R. 6202, the Telehealth Extension Act, and H.R. 7573/S. 3593, the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, provisions relating to extension of Medicare coverage of telehealth services and limitations on payment for certain laboratory tests; H.R. 8152, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), provisions relating to data privacy; S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act, provisions relating to demographic data reporting obligations for laboratories; Federal policy related to implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. 116-127, provisions relating to coverage of and funding for COVID-19 diagnostic tests; Federal policy related to implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. 116-136, provisions relating to coverage and reimbursement of COVID-19 diagnostic tests and Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests; Federal policy relating to the National Correct Coding Initiative and manual instructions inconsistent with American Medical Association guidelines for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding; and Federal policy relating to availability of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $110,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Budget/Appropriations
Reimbursement and coverage issues for and related to clinical laboratory services, including the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, physician fee schedule, new test coding and pricing, COVID-19 test coverage and reimbursement, and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93); regulation and oversight of clinical laboratories, including laboratory developed test services; commercial laboratory surge capacity issues for response to COVID-19 pandemic/epidemic/public health crises, access to clinical laboratory services via telehealth clinical visits. Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act H.R. 8188/S. 4449, VALID Act H.R. 4128/S. 2209, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act S. 3593, PREVENT Pandemics Act S. 3799, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L 117-328.
Client expense: $1,319,853 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medical/Disease Research/Clinical Labs
Reimbursement and coverage issues for and related to clinical laboratory services, including the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, physician fee schedule, new test coding and pricing, COVID-19 test coverage and reimbursement, and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93); regulation and oversight of clinical laboratories, including laboratory developed test services; commercial laboratory surge capacity issues for response to COVID-19 pandemic/epidemic/public health crises, access to clinical laboratory services via telehealth clinical visits. Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act H.R. 8188/S. 4449, VALID Act H.R. 4128/S. 2209, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act S. 3593, PREVENT Pandemics Act S. 3799, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L 117-328.
Client expense: $1,319,853 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Reimbursement and coverage issues for and related to clinical laboratory services, including the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, physician fee schedule, new test coding and pricing, COVID-19 test coverage and reimbursement, and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93); regulation and oversight of clinical laboratories, including laboratory developed test services; commercial laboratory surge capacity issues for response to COVID-19 pandemic/epidemic/public health crises, access to clinical laboratory services via telehealth clinical visits. Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act H.R. 8188/S. 4449, VALID Act H.R. 4128/S. 2209, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act S. 3593, PREVENT Pandemics Act S. 3799, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L 117-328.
Client expense: $1,319,853 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Reimbursement and coverage issues for and related to clinical laboratory services, including the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, physician fee schedule, new test coding and pricing, COVID-19 test coverage and reimbursement, and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (P.L. 113-93); regulation and oversight of clinical laboratories, including laboratory developed test services; commercial laboratory surge capacity issues for response to COVID-19 pandemic/epidemic/public health crises, access to clinical laboratory services via telehealth clinical visits. Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act H.R. 8188/S. 4449, VALID Act H.R. 4128/S. 2209, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act S. 3593, PREVENT Pandemics Act S. 3799, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L 117-328.
Client expense: $1,319,853 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 366 Authorize HHS Secretary to waive or modify application of Medicare requirements with respect to telehealth services during any emergency period. HR 955 and S 285 To allow for medical assistance under Medicaid for inmates during 30-day period preceding release from a public institution. HR 1332 and S 368 Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. HR 1349 To provide for the conversion of certain accelerated and advance payments to grants under parts A and B of the Medicare program. S 834 To create an additional 14,000 Medicare-supported residency slots over seven years. HR 2166 To require the inclusion of certain audio-only diagnoses in the determination of risk adjustment for Medicare Advantage plans and PACE programs. HR 3371 To improve access to home health care furnished by telehealth amid PHEs. HR 3589 Medicare AAP loan repayment delay HR 3746 To improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program. S. 368 Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. HR 4587 To direct HHS to revise certain regulations in relation to the Medicare shared savings program and other advanced alternative payment arrangements to encourage program participation. S. 2622 To provide for Medicaid coverage of comprehensive tobacco cessation services. HR 5514 To improve extended care services by providing Medicare beneficiaries with an option for cost effective home-based extended care. S 3018 To establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans. Oppose Medicare sequester. S. 3593 To extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and to evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries HR 7573 To extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and to evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries HR 4407/S 1568 To modify the methodology and application of Medicare Advantage nursing and allied health education payments for hospitals HR 4040 To extend telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program HR 5370 To establish a CMS demo for medically tailored meals for Medicare beneficiaries. HR 8487 To establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans. HR 8800 To extend certain increases in payments for physicians services under the Medicare program through 2023
Client expense: $200,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Executive Office of the President (EOP), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
P.L. 117-328/H.R. 2617- Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, provisions related to Medicare reimbursement for clinical diagnostics laboratory services H.R. 8188/S. 4449 - Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act, provisions related to Medicare reimbursement for clinical diagnostics laboratory services S. 3593, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act H.R. 4040, Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022
Client expense: $320,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Telehealth provisions following PHE; HR6202/S3593 - provisions requiring in person visits prior to ordering lab tests Legislation on best practices for pharmacogenomic testing; S4633
Client expense: $290,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to telehealth; S. 3593, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R. 6202, Telehealth Extension Act of 2021; Physician coverage and reimbursement issues
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Public Health Emergency, Telehealth, and Physician Virtual Supervision issues. H.R.2168/S.3193 - Expanded Telehealth Access Act, H.R.2903/S.1512- CONNECT for Health Act, H.R. 6202 - Telehealth Expansion Act, H.R.1332/S.368 - Telehealth Modernization Act, H.R.7573/S.3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R.9247 - The Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
The Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, P.L. 111-152): Continued advocacy with Congress in support of expanding coverage and improving Medicare benefits; Providing needed protections to guard against insurance practices that unfairly limit, deny or rescind coverage based on health status; public and private health insurers should encourage preventive health care by providing full coverage, with no cost-sharing, for preventive services recommended by an expert advisory group, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Ensuring access to primary care physicians; and beginning to bend the cost curve; Prohibiting insurers from excluding or charging excessive rates to children based on pre-existing conditions, which later will be expanded to all persons; Covering young adults on their parents' plans; Eliminating lifetime and annual limits on health insurance coverage; Requiring that health insurers spend more on patient care and less on administration; Eliminating patient cost-sharing for preventive services offered by Medicare or private insurers; Increasing Medicare and Medicaid payments to primary care physicians; Supporting the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help physicians and patients make care decisions based on the best available evidence; Supporting the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to fund pilots of delivery models to improve outcomes and reduce costs, including patient-centered medical homes; Advocated against a December 2018 ruling by a federal judge in Texas that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Access to Primary Care (H.R. 3962/H.R. 3590/H.R. 4872): Provide sliding scale subsidies based on income to buy coverage from qualified plans; Qualified plans should: provide evidence-based benefits, including preventive services; and be prohibited from excluding persons with pre-existing conditions, charging them more, cherry-picking enrollees, or cancelling or failing to renew coverage; Expand Medicaid to cover all persons below the Federal Poverty Level and ensure fair payments to participating physicians; As coverage becomes affordable, all persons should participate and coverage should be guaranteed; Responsibility for financing should be shared by individuals, employers and government. Medicare Payments to Physicians: Urged that Congress provide incentives to physicians who transform their practices into Advanced Alternative Payment Models and continue to provide stability for physicians in the MIPS program. Specifically, Congress should extend the five percent Qualified Alternative Payment Model participant bonus beyond the 2022 performance year, replace the zero percent baseline payment updates under Medicare with positive updates. Urged congressional committees with jurisdiction over Medicare to exercise their oversight authority and urge CMS to expedite approval of more Advanced APMS, particularly those that work for small and specialty practices and to simplify the scoring structure and reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in order to fulfill Congress intent of a more streamlined program that reduces burdens on physicians; Supported S.2648, the Rural ACO Improvement Act, amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to ensure that all ACOs have an equal opportunity to share in savings regardless of their geographic location; Provided recommendations to CMS on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathway (MVP), which aims to reduce reporting burden and complexity within MIPS while improving the accuracy and effectiveness of performance measurement. The College noted specifically that a robust, multi-year transition period will be critical to the success of the MVP, that it does not support making the MVP mandatory, that CMS should continue to support numerous reporting mechanisms, including qualified registries and clinical data registries, which have been instrumental in developing specialty-specific performance measures, among other things. Regarding CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) rules, expressed support for extending some of the services and increased flexibility for telehealth through the end of 2024, namely some audio-only services that were allowed during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), support for collecting additional data on health equity issues to analyze disparities that occur across their programs, support for including chronic care management as one of the seven MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) for 2023. Urged CMS to discontinue its split/shared visits policy and not move forward with the transition set to take effect in 2023. Urged Congress to support inclusion in must-pass legislation this year provisions to provide financial stability through a baseline positive annual update to the physician fee schedule reflecting inflation in practice costs, and eliminate, revise budget neutrality requirements to allow for appropriate changes in spending growth and prevent a 4.42 percent Medicare payment cut as contained in H.R. 8800, the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022; Extend the moratoriums on sequester and PAYGO cuts that were approved by Congress at the end of last year. Recommended modifications to Medicare law to establish a mechanism for savings to be calculated across all aspects of the program-that is, increased investment in relative and absolute payments for primary care and preventive health care services (Part B) results in savings due to reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations (Part A)-and to allow these savings to be reinvested back into primary and preventive care, as well as into social and public health services. With regard to Medicares Quality Payment Program, advocated with Congress to provide flexibility to CMS to set performance thresholds, improve the cost performance category, provide scoring flexibility to CMS to allow for multi-category credit, provide CMS flexibility to score and benchmark measures as appropriate and to test and incentivize new measures and MVPs to ensure successful implementation, update the Promoting Interoperability performance category, Extend the $500 million exceptional performance bonus for an additional six years , align comparisons in the MIPS Quality performance category and Physician Compare. FY2023 Appropriations: Urged Congress to support funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions programs in the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill as well as funding shared evenly between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. Advocated for funding for the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA); Title VII, Section 747, Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); National Health Service Corps (NHSC); Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). COVID-19: Urged congressional appropriators to provide the highest possible funding level for research, prevention, control, and treatment of illnesses associated with the virus that is commensurate with the public health emergency that the virus represents. Expressed support to Congress and the administration for a variety of COVID-related bills from the 116th Congress as follows: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, and other stimulus reforms related to COVID-19 including: Emergency paid leave benefits, paid sick days for public health emergencies, coverage of testing for COVID-19, waiving of cost sharing under Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and CHIP, increasing the federal FMAP under Medicaid, providing reimbursement for CPT codes 99441 - 99443, which are telephone evaluation and management services, expediting entrance of international medical graduates who are citizens of other nations (non-US IMGs) into the country and ensuring that lawfully present non-U.S. IMGs are not negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, funding for physician practices under the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), providing tax relief, grants, and loans to small and medium size practices impacted by COVID-19, increasing funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), ensuring Medicaid pay parity with Medicare for primary care services; Urged support for H.R. 7059, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act, which extend liability protections to those who provide care in good faith during the COVID-19 public health emergency (plus a reasonable time, such as 60 days, after the emergency declaration ends), and not in situations of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The College also urged that pay parity between telephone claims and in-person visits and between all telehealth and in-person visits be maintained after the PHE is lifted. Urged congress to mitigate the impact of covid across racial and ethnic minority populations by collect covid-19 and racial disparity data, equitably distribute covid-19 vaccines and treatments, protect essential workers, permanently expand access to family and medical leave, address environmental and social drivers of health, integrate primary care and behavioral health, improve mental health parity with increased federal oversight and enforcement, make naloxone more available to prevent overdose, expand medication-assisted treatment (mat) for physicians, establish a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP); urged support for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to all eligible immigrants in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Urged CMS to support increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake by ensuring clinicians are appropriately paid for vaccine counseling for beneficiaries of Medicaid and Medicare. Urged that telehealth services should remain in place for at least two years after the end of the PHE to ensure that our physicians are able to continue to use this modality to enhance patient care. Urged Congress to support the concept of a congressionally-mandated bipartisan commission to examine the U.S. preparations for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to inform future public policy and health systems preparedness. Urged that any uses of technology in the U.S. in the context of the pandemic should be demonstrated to be effective, be temporary, and ensure that safeguards for privacy and confidentiality are in place. Womens Health: Urged HHS to support Title X funding and ensure unencumbered access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive health care; eliminate medically unnecessary restrictions and inappropriate political interference in the patient-physician relationship; and protect funding for and ensures consistent treatment of qualified service sites. Urged support for mandatory, permanent extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage, from 60 days to 12 months after delivery. Urged support for the Womens Health Protection Act of 2021 and 2022 (H.R. 3755/S. 1975), bills that would protect a persons ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy and to protect the health care clinicians ability to provide abortion services free from medically unnecessary restrictions such as waiting periods, biased counselling and admitting privilege requirements for clinicians. Access to Care: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 340, the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2021, to expand federal matching assistance for states that choose to expand Medicaid, regardless of when such expansion takes place: Cosponsor and pass H.R. 369, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2021, to permanently expand eligibility for higher premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Primary Care and the Physician Workforce: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 2256/S. 834, the Resident Physician Reduction Shortage Act of 2021, to increase the number of GME slots to 14,000 over seven years for specialties facing shortages, including internal medicine; Cosponsor and pass S. 1024, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, to recapture 40,000 unused visas and use them to provide additional green cards to 15,000 physicians and 25,000 professional nurses; Cosponsor and pass H.R. 3541/S. 1810, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, to allow states to sponsor foreign-trained physicians to work in medically underserved areas in exchange for a waiver of the physicians' two-year foreign residence requirement; Cosponsor and pass H.R.4122/S.3658, the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act, to make it possible for residents to defer interest on their loans; Support inclusion in FY2023 appropriations legislation funding for Title VII Primary Care and Training Enhancement (PCTE) at $71 million to support and expand the pipeline for individuals training in primary care. Public Health and Pandemic Preparedness: Urged members of Congress to support funding in FY2023 appropriations - $11 billion total for the CDC, $35 million for the CDCs Injury Prevention and Control, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; $49 billion in total for the NIH, $25 million for the Office of the Director, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; Cosponsor and pass the COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 7007, or a similar supplemental funding package, to provide $15.6 billion in additional funding for COVID relief; Cosponsor and pass the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 2903/S. 1512) and the Telehealth Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 6202/S. 3593), to remove arbitrary restrictions on where a patient must be located to utilize telehealth services; enable patients to continue to receive telehealth services in their homes; ensure federally-qualified health centers and rural health centers can furnish telehealth services and improve data collection and analysis for at least two years. Prescription Drug Reform: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass S. 898, the Fair Drug Pricing Act, to require drug companies to disclose and provide more information about imminent drug-price increases, including data about research and development costs; Cosponsor and pass S. 833, the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2021, to help to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries; Cosponsor and pass S. 464/H.R. 2163, the Safe Step Act, to ensure patient access to appropriate treatments based on clinical decision-making and medical necessity rather than arbitrary step therapy protocols. Telehealth Services: Urged Congress to support H.R. 2903/S. 1512, the CONNECT for Health Act, to remove arbitrary barriers to telehealth services such as geographic and site of service restrictions; S. 168/H.R. 708, the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act, to ensure that telehealth services can be provided across states lines after the public health emergency ends; H.R. 8487, the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act that would help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burdens on physicians by standardizing and streamlining the prior authorization approval process in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Advocated with Congress for passage of H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021, to extend coverage for critical telehealth services beyond the public health emergency. Mental and Behavioral Health: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 5218, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, to provide grants through the Department of Health and Human Services to primary care physicians who choose to deliver behavioral health care through the Collaborate Care Model (CoCM); Support enhanced reimbursement for CoCM payment codes under Medicare to more appropriately reflect the value of services provided to patients with mental health and substance use disorder needs. Scope of Practice: Urged Congress to oppose the Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act, or the I CAN Act, H.R. 8812, which allows non-physician clinicians to deliver care that is not commensurate with their training, skills, and demonstrated competencies in accord with national standards
Client expense: $69,651 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), President of the U.S., SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
The Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, P.L. 111-152): Continued advocacy with Congress in support of expanding coverage and improving Medicare benefits; Providing needed protections to guard against insurance practices that unfairly limit, deny or rescind coverage based on health status; public and private health insurers should encourage preventive health care by providing full coverage, with no cost-sharing, for preventive services recommended by an expert advisory group, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Ensuring access to primary care physicians; and beginning to bend the cost curve; Prohibiting insurers from excluding or charging excessive rates to children based on pre-existing conditions, which later will be expanded to all persons; Covering young adults on their parents' plans; Eliminating lifetime and annual limits on health insurance coverage; Requiring that health insurers spend more on patient care and less on administration; Eliminating patient cost-sharing for preventive services offered by Medicare or private insurers; Increasing Medicare and Medicaid payments to primary care physicians; Supporting the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help physicians and patients make care decisions based on the best available evidence; Supporting the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to fund pilots of delivery models to improve outcomes and reduce costs, including patient-centered medical homes; Advocated against a December 2018 ruling by a federal judge in Texas that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Access to Primary Care (H.R. 3962/H.R. 3590/H.R. 4872): Provide sliding scale subsidies based on income to buy coverage from qualified plans; Qualified plans should: provide evidence-based benefits, including preventive services; and be prohibited from excluding persons with pre-existing conditions, charging them more, cherry-picking enrollees, or cancelling or failing to renew coverage; Expand Medicaid to cover all persons below the Federal Poverty Level and ensure fair payments to participating physicians; As coverage becomes affordable, all persons should participate and coverage should be guaranteed; Responsibility for financing should be shared by individuals, employers and government. Medicare Payments to Physicians: Urged that Congress provide incentives to physicians who transform their practices into Advanced Alternative Payment Models and continue to provide stability for physicians in the MIPS program. Specifically, Congress should extend the five percent Qualified Alternative Payment Model participant bonus beyond the 2022 performance year, replace the zero percent baseline payment updates under Medicare with positive updates. Urged congressional committees with jurisdiction over Medicare to exercise their oversight authority and urge CMS to expedite approval of more Advanced APMS, particularly those that work for small and specialty practices and to simplify the scoring structure and reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in order to fulfill Congress intent of a more streamlined program that reduces burdens on physicians; Supported S.2648, the Rural ACO Improvement Act, amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to ensure that all ACOs have an equal opportunity to share in savings regardless of their geographic location; Provided recommendations to CMS on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathway (MVP), which aims to reduce reporting burden and complexity within MIPS while improving the accuracy and effectiveness of performance measurement. The College noted specifically that a robust, multi-year transition period will be critical to the success of the MVP, that it does not support making the MVP mandatory, that CMS should continue to support numerous reporting mechanisms, including qualified registries and clinical data registries, which have been instrumental in developing specialty-specific performance measures, among other things. Regarding CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) rules, expressed support for extending some of the services and increased flexibility for telehealth through the end of 2024, namely some audio-only services that were allowed during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), support for collecting additional data on health equity issues to analyze disparities that occur across their programs, support for including chronic care management as one of the seven MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) for 2023. Urged CMS to discontinue its split/shared visits policy and not move forward with the transition set to take effect in 2023. Urged Congress to support inclusion in must-pass legislation this year provisions to provide financial stability through a baseline positive annual update to the physician fee schedule reflecting inflation in practice costs, and eliminate, revise budget neutrality requirements to allow for appropriate changes in spending growth and prevent a 4.42 percent Medicare payment cut as contained in H.R. 8800, the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022; Extend the moratoriums on sequester and PAYGO cuts that were approved by Congress at the end of last year. Recommended modifications to Medicare law to establish a mechanism for savings to be calculated across all aspects of the program-that is, increased investment in relative and absolute payments for primary care and preventive health care services (Part B) results in savings due to reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations (Part A)-and to allow these savings to be reinvested back into primary and preventive care, as well as into social and public health services. With regard to Medicares Quality Payment Program, advocated with Congress to provide flexibility to CMS to set performance thresholds, improve the cost performance category, provide scoring flexibility to CMS to allow for multi-category credit, provide CMS flexibility to score and benchmark measures as appropriate and to test and incentivize new measures and MVPs to ensure successful implementation, update the Promoting Interoperability performance category, Extend the $500 million exceptional performance bonus for an additional six years , align comparisons in the MIPS Quality performance category and Physician Compare. FY2023 Appropriations: Urged Congress to support funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions programs in the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill as well as funding shared evenly between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. Advocated for funding for the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA); Title VII, Section 747, Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); National Health Service Corps (NHSC); Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). COVID-19: Urged congressional appropriators to provide the highest possible funding level for research, prevention, control, and treatment of illnesses associated with the virus that is commensurate with the public health emergency that the virus represents. Expressed support to Congress and the administration for a variety of COVID-related bills from the 116th Congress as follows: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, and other stimulus reforms related to COVID-19 including: Emergency paid leave benefits, paid sick days for public health emergencies, coverage of testing for COVID-19, waiving of cost sharing under Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and CHIP, increasing the federal FMAP under Medicaid, providing reimbursement for CPT codes 99441 - 99443, which are telephone evaluation and management services, expediting entrance of international medical graduates who are citizens of other nations (non-US IMGs) into the country and ensuring that lawfully present non-U.S. IMGs are not negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, funding for physician practices under the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), providing tax relief, grants, and loans to small and medium size practices impacted by COVID-19, increasing funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), ensuring Medicaid pay parity with Medicare for primary care services; Urged support for H.R. 7059, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act, which extend liability protections to those who provide care in good faith during the COVID-19 public health emergency (plus a reasonable time, such as 60 days, after the emergency declaration ends), and not in situations of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The College also urged that pay parity between telephone claims and in-person visits and between all telehealth and in-person visits be maintained after the PHE is lifted. Urged congress to mitigate the impact of covid across racial and ethnic minority populations by collect covid-19 and racial disparity data, equitably distribute covid-19 vaccines and treatments, protect essential workers, permanently expand access to family and medical leave, address environmental and social drivers of health, integrate primary care and behavioral health, improve mental health parity with increased federal oversight and enforcement, make naloxone more available to prevent overdose, expand medication-assisted treatment (mat) for physicians, establish a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP); urged support for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to all eligible immigrants in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Urged CMS to support increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake by ensuring clinicians are appropriately paid for vaccine counseling for beneficiaries of Medicaid and Medicare. Urged that telehealth services should remain in place for at least two years after the end of the PHE to ensure that our physicians are able to continue to use this modality to enhance patient care. Urged Congress to support the concept of a congressionally-mandated bipartisan commission to examine the U.S. preparations for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to inform future public policy and health systems preparedness. Urged that any uses of technology in the U.S. in the context of the pandemic should be demonstrated to be effective, be temporary, and ensure that safeguards for privacy and confidentiality are in place. Womens Health: Urged HHS to support Title X funding and ensure unencumbered access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive health care; eliminate medically unnecessary restrictions and inappropriate political interference in the patient-physician relationship; and protect funding for and ensures consistent treatment of qualified service sites. Urged support for mandatory, permanent extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage, from 60 days to 12 months after delivery. Urged support for the Womens Health Protection Act of 2021 and 2022 (H.R. 3755/S. 1975), bills that would protect a persons ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy and to protect the health care clinicians ability to provide abortion services free from medically unnecessary restrictions such as waiting periods, biased counselling and admitting privilege requirements for clinicians. Access to Care: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 340, the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2021, to expand federal matching assistance for states that choose to expand Medicaid, regardless of when such expansion takes place: Cosponsor and pass H.R. 369, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2021, to permanently expand eligibility for higher premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Primary Care and the Physician Workforce: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 2256/S. 834, the Resident Physician Reduction Shortage Act of 2021, to increase the number of GME slots to 14,000 over seven years for specialties facing shortages, including internal medicine; Cosponsor and pass S. 1024, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, to recapture 40,000 unused visas and use them to provide additional green cards to 15,000 physicians and 25,000 professional nurses; Cosponsor and pass H.R. 3541/S. 1810, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, to allow states to sponsor foreign-trained physicians to work in medically underserved areas in exchange for a waiver of the physicians' two-year foreign residence requirement; Cosponsor and pass H.R.4122/S.3658, the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act, to make it possible for residents to defer interest on their loans; Support inclusion in FY2023 appropriations legislation funding for Title VII Primary Care and Training Enhancement (PCTE) at $71 million to support and expand the pipeline for individuals training in primary care. Public Health and Pandemic Preparedness: Urged members of Congress to support funding in FY2023 appropriations - $11 billion total for the CDC, $35 million for the CDCs Injury Prevention and Control, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; $49 billion in total for the NIH, $25 million for the Office of the Director, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; Cosponsor and pass the COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 7007, or a similar supplemental funding package, to provide $15.6 billion in additional funding for COVID relief; Cosponsor and pass the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 2903/S. 1512) and the Telehealth Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 6202/S. 3593), to remove arbitrary restrictions on where a patient must be located to utilize telehealth services; enable patients to continue to receive telehealth services in their homes; ensure federally-qualified health centers and rural health centers can furnish telehealth services and improve data collection and analysis for at least two years. Prescription Drug Reform: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass S. 898, the Fair Drug Pricing Act, to require drug companies to disclose and provide more information about imminent drug-price increases, including data about research and development costs; Cosponsor and pass S. 833, the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2021, to help to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries; Cosponsor and pass S. 464/H.R. 2163, the Safe Step Act, to ensure patient access to appropriate treatments based on clinical decision-making and medical necessity rather than arbitrary step therapy protocols. Telehealth Services: Urged Congress to support H.R. 2903/S. 1512, the CONNECT for Health Act, to remove arbitrary barriers to telehealth services such as geographic and site of service restrictions; S. 168/H.R. 708, the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act, to ensure that telehealth services can be provided across states lines after the public health emergency ends; H.R. 8487, the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act that would help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burdens on physicians by standardizing and streamlining the prior authorization approval process in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Advocated with Congress for passage of H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021, to extend coverage for critical telehealth services beyond the public health emergency. Mental and Behavioral Health: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 5218, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, to provide grants through the Department of Health and Human Services to primary care physicians who choose to deliver behavioral health care through the Collaborate Care Model (CoCM); Support enhanced reimbursement for CoCM payment codes under Medicare to more appropriately reflect the value of services provided to patients with mental health and substance use disorder needs. Scope of Practice: Urged Congress to oppose the Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act, or the I CAN Act, H.R. 8812, which allows non-physician clinicians to deliver care that is not commensurate with their training, skills, and demonstrated competencies in accord with national standards.
Client expense: $300,406 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), President of the U.S., SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Healthcare issues related to clinical laboratories; H.R. 8188/S. 4449, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), provisions relating to reform of Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory services under Section 216 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, Pub. L. 113-93; H.R. 4128/S. 2209, the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act, included as Subtitle C of Title VIII of S. 4348, the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements Act (FDASLA), provisions relating to FDA oversight of laboratory-developed tests; H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, H.R. 6202, the Telehealth Extension Act, and H.R. 7573/S. 3593, the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, provisions relating to extension of Medicare coverage of telehealth services and limitations on payment for certain laboratory tests; H.R. 8152, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), provisions relating to data privacy; S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act, provisions relating to demographic data reporting obligations for laboratories; H.R. 5030/S. 2706, the DIVERSE Trials Act, provisions relating to enhancing diversity in clinical trials and data collection and reporting by clinical laboratories; H.R. 2565/S. 2952, the FDA Modernization Act, provisions relating to biomedical research; H.R.3173/S. 3018, the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act, provisions relating to prior authorization of health care services; Federal policy related to implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. 116-127, provisions relating to coverage of and funding for COVID-19 diagnostic tests; Federal policy related to implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. 116-136, provisions relating to coverage and reimbursement of COVID-19 diagnostic tests and Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests; Federal policy related to supply chain issues affecting pre-clinical biomedical research for drug development; Federal policy relating to the National Correct Coding Initiative and manual instructions inconsistent with American Medical Association guidelines for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding; and Federal policy relating to availability of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes.
Client expense: $250,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
HR 2547 Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act (all sections of full text) S 3593 Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (all sections of full text) HR 4390 PROTECT 340B Act of 2021 (all sections of full text)(support) P.L. 117-169 Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; discussions involving the extension of ACA subsidies through 2025 Discussions involving 340B Drug Pricing Program Discussions involving Medicare sequestration Discussions involving CMS proposed Physician Fee Schedule Monitored HR 7776 James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 Monitored S 2428 False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 Monitored S 748 Medicare Sequester Relief Act Monitored S 2061 Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021 Monitored HR 4058 Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021 Monitored S 368 Telehealth Modernization Act Monitored HR 1332 Telehealth Modernization Act Monitored S 155 Equal Access to Care Act Monitored HR 688 Equal Access to Care Act Monitored discussions pertaining to CMS rulemaking on surprise billing ban Monitored discussions pertinent to health care group purchasing organizations (GPOs) Monitored nominations to executive branch agencies and federally authorized commissions Monitored CMS price transparency rule for hospitals, Public Health Service Act Section 2718(e)
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $100,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Telecommunications
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S 1315/HR 3630 - The Lymphedema Treatment At: Support passage. HR 5536 - Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy (SMART) Act: Advocated for passage of SMART Act and related S5 (To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure appropriate supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and outpatient occupational therapy), which contained provision of SMART Act that revised supervision rules for Occupational Therapy Assistants. HR 2168/S3193 - Expanded Telehealth Access Act: Advocated for passage. S. 368/HR 1332 - Telehealth Modernization Act: Advocated for passage. HR 1990/S 2556 - Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act: Lobbied for changes to the bills to ensure the legislation does not disrupt the ability of occupational therapy practitioners to provide and bill for orthotics and prosthetics and related services under Medicare. S.4712-OT Mental Health Parity Act: Support Passage of bill to direct CMS to put forward guidance clarifying that occupational therapy services can be provided to a person with a mental or behavioral health diagnosis under Medicare and Medicaid. HR3173/S3018-Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act: Support passage. HR 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act: Endorsed S.3593 - Telehealth Extension & Evaluation Act: Endorsed HR 6770-PACE Plus Act and S 3626 PACE Expanded Act: Support passage HR 8800 - Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022: Advocate for passage HR 4040, Advancing Telehealth Beond COVID-19 Act of 2021 - Support Senate adoption to extend telehealth waivers through the end of 2024. Provision adopted as part of the year-end Omnibus. H.R. 2617 - Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023: Support inclusion of all above provisions in end of year Omnibus bill. No bill: Supported efforts to include occupational therapy in new school-based Medicaid guidelines, where appropriate. No bill number: Support for passage of legislative provisions to clarify providers who are exempt from competitive bidding when providing orthotics and prosthetics, and reducing fraud in the provision of orthotics and prosthetics.
Client expense: $180,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Health Issues
Telemedicine legislation including H.R. 2903, S. 1512 - CONNECT for Health Act; H.R. 1332, S. 368 - Telehealth Modernization Act; H.R. 366 - Protecting Access to Post-COVID Telehealth Act; H.R. 4058, S. 2061 - Telemental Health Care Access Act; H.R. 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act; H.R. 1647, S. 340 - TREATS Act; H.R. 5981, S. 1704 - Telehealth Expansion Act; H.R. 7353 - Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act; H.R. 7573, S. 3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R. 4040 - Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act; H.R. 2617 - Consolidated Appropriations Act
Client expense: $120,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · fourth_quarter · Pharmacy
Regulatory and legislative issues impacting Alkermes. S.3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act. H.R.2617 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $50,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
HR 366 Authorize HHS Secretary to waive or modify application of Medicare requirements with respect to telehealth services during any emergency period. HR 955 and S 285 To allow for medical assistance under Medicaid for inmates during 30-day period preceding release from a public institution. HR 1332 and S 368 Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. HR 1349 To provide for the conversion of certain accelerated and advance payments to grants under parts A and B of the Medicare program. S 834 To create an additional 14,000 Medicare-supported residency slots over seven years. HR 2166 To require the inclusion of certain audio-only diagnoses in the determination of risk adjustment for Medicare Advantage plans and PACE programs. HR 3371 To improve access to home health care furnished by telehealth amid PHEs. HR 3589 Medicare AAP loan repayment delay HR 3746 To improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program. S. 368 Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. HR 4587 To direct HHS to revise certain regulations in relation to the Medicare shared savings program and other advanced alternative payment arrangements to encourage program participation. S. 2622 To provide for Medicaid coverage of comprehensive tobacco cessation services. HR 5514 To improve extended care services by providing Medicare beneficiaries with an option for cost effective home-based extended care. S 3018 To establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans. Oppose Medicare sequester. S. 3593 To extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and to evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries HR 7573 To extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and to evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries HR 4407/S 1568 To modify the methodology and application of Medicare Advantage nursing and allied health education payments for hospitals HR 4040 To extend telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program HR 5370 To establish a CMS demo for medically tailored meals for Medicare beneficiaries HR 8487 To establish requirements with respect to the use of prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans HR 8800 To extend certain increases in payments for physicians services under the Medicare program through 2023
Client expense: $200,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Issues regarding healthcare work force shortages. Palliative Care and Hospice Education & Training Act (S. 2460). Issues related to community based palliative care and advanced care illness management. The Grief Resilience Investment and Education Fund (GRIEF) Act (H.R. 9109) and issues regarding bereavement care. The Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act (S. 2565). Issues affecting hospice providers. The extension of sequestration relief provided under H.R.1868, the Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act (H.R. 315) and Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act (H.R. 610); the Telehealth Modernization Act (S. 368/H.R.1332) and the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) Act (S. 1512/H.R. 2903) as it relates to use of telehealth in the certification of a beneficiary for the hospice benefit; The Childrens Program of All-inclusive Coordinated Care (ChiPACC) Act of 2021 (H.R. 4952); The Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act (S.2565). The Health Care Workforce Resilience Act (S. 1024/H.R. 2255); The Provider Training in Palliative Care Act (S. 2890); The Palliative Care Training for Providers Act (H.R. 5376); The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) as related to Medicare sequester relief, telehealth flexibilities, and hospice payment reimbursement; care; Issues related to regulatory relief; Issues involving hospice providers and COVID relief; Issues related to coronavirus; Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (S. 3593); the Telehealth Extension Act (H.R. 6202). Issues related to healthcare workforce shortages; Issues related to community-based palliative care and advanced care illness management. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938) and issues concerning bereavement care. Issues related to safe opioid disposal and implementation of the SUPPORT Act (H.R. 2379).
Client expense: $280,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Issues concerning access to the Medicare hospice benefit and palliative care. Issues regarding reimbursement for the Medicare hospice benefit. Issues related to community based palliative care and advanced care illness management. Issues related to regulatory relief. Issues concerning Medicare Advantage and the hospice benefit. Issues related to COVID. H.R. 4040, Advancing Telehealth Beyond Covid-19 Act of 2021; S. 368 / H.R. 1332, the Telehealth Modernization Act; as they relate to use of telehealth in the certification of a beneficiary for the hospice benefit. S. 1512 / H.R. 2903, The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) Act. Medicare sequestration relief. Issues regarding program integrity. H.R. 5376 (P.L. 117-169), the Inflation Reduction Act, as it relates to home and community-based services and palliative care. S. 2565, Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act. Issues regarding bereavement care. The FY 2023 Proposed Hospice Wage Rule, as it relates to hospice reimbursement. H.R.8505 - To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a one-year waiver of budget neutrality adjustments under the Medicare physician fee schedule, and for other purposes. Issues related to hospice codes. Issues related to hospice telehealth flexibilities. Issues concerning hospice payment and alternative payment models. Issues regarding in-patient and in-home respite care. Issues related to COVID-19 emergency funding, extension of the public health emergency, testing, vaccines, and COVID-19 related legislation. Issues related to regulatory flexibilities granted under the public health emergency. Issues related to the hospice and palliative care workforce. Issues pertaining to the hospice election statement and election statement addendum. Issues pertaining to concurrent care. Issues related to children's access to hospice and palliative care. The extension of sequestration relief provided under H.R.1868, Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act (H.R. 315), and Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act (H.R. 610); The Children's Program of All-inclusive Coordinated Care (ChiPACC) Act of 2021 (H.R. 4952); H.R. 2471 (P.L. 117-103), The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) (S. 4260); The Telehealth Extension & Evaluation Act (S. 3593); the Telehealth Extension Act (H.R. 6202). Medicare Hospice Payment Rule. Issues related to the implementation of the Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments (HOSPICE) Act and the Rural Access to Hospice Act.
Client expense: $280,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE, White House Office
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 1332, Telehealth Modernization Act, all provisions S. 368, Telehealth Modernization Act, all provisions H.R. 3259, Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction In the Nation (NOPAIN) Act, all provisions S. 586, NOPAIN Act, all provisions H.R. 2903, Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021, all provisions S. 1512, CONNECT for Health Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 2256, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021, all provisions S. 834, Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7995, Getting Over Lengthy Delays in Care As Required by Doctors (GOLD CARD) Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 3407, Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMAs) Act, all provisions S. 411, MOMMAs Act, all provisions H.R. 3173, Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act of 2021, all provisions S. 3018, Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 8487, Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 4058, Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2061, Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 3441, Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act, all provisions S. 1438, Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act, all provisions H.R. 955, Medicaid Reentry Act of 2021, all provisions S. 285, Medicaid Reentry Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 2654, Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2021, provisions related to scope of practice H.R. 6020, Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2021, all provisions S. 3314, Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 4587, Value in Health Care Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2938, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, all provisions H.R. 8800, Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 4040, Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 8850, Fair Access In Residency (FAIR) Act, all provisions S. 2173, Promoting Responsible and Effective Virtual Experiences through Novel Technology to Deliver Improved Access and Better Engagement with Tested and Evidence-based Strategies (PREVENT DIABETES) Act, all provisions S. 4873, Improving Access to Advance Care Planning Act, all provisions H.R. 4014, Physician Shortage GME Cap Flex Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2094, Physician Shortage GME Cap Flex Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7213, Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, all provisions H.R. 8594, Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, all provisions S. 4750, Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, all provisions H.R. 8188, Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), all provisions S. 4449, SALSA Act, all provisions H.R. 3, Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, all provisions H.R. 19, Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 1868, To prevent across-the-board direct spending cuts, and for other purposes, all provisions H.R. 315, Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act, all provisions S. 610, Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act, all provisions H.R. 6048, Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act, all provisions H.R. 3434, Territories Health Equity Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 4406, Supporting Medicaid in the U.S. Territories Act of 2021, all provisions S. 801, Connected Maternal Online Monitoring Act, all provisions S. 346, Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 1738, Stabilize Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Act, all provisions H.R. 1025, Kids Access to Primary Care Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 66, Comprehensive Access to Robust Insurance Now Guaranteed (CARING) for Kids Act, all provisions S. 748, Medicare Sequester Relief Act, all provisions H.R. 6000, Cures 2.0 Act, all provisions H.R. 4043, Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act of 2021, all provisions S. 2416, New Opportunities for Value that Extend Lives (NOVEL) Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7666, Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 3746, Accountable Care in Rural America Act, all provisions H.R. 4755, Seniors Chronic Care Management Improvement Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 6308, ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 366, Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 2166, Ensuring Parity in MA and PACE for Audio-Only Telehealth Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 2228, Rural Behavioral Health Access Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 3447, Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act, all provisions H.R. 7051, Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act of 2022, all provisions S. 3791, Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 7573, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, all provisions S. 3593, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, all provisions H.R. 7878, Kidney Health Connect Act of 2022, all provisions S. 4307, Kidney Health Connect Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 6202, Telehealth Extension Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 7053, Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, all provisions S. 3792, Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, all provisions H.R. 7116, 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 8879, Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Improvement Act, all provisions H.R. 8878, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure adequate coverage of outpatient mental health services under the Medicare program, all provisions H.R. 432, Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 8910, Behavioral Health Integration Awareness Act of 2022, all provisions H.R. 8884, To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide outreach and reporting on opioid use disorder treatment services furnished by opioid treatment programs under the Medicare program, all provisions S. 987, CARA 3.0 Act of 2021, all provisions H.R. 925, Data to Save Moms Act, all provisions H.R. 7475, Mamas First Act, all provisions H.R. 5067, Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act, all provisions S. 2652, Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act, all provisions H.R. 8812, To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to increase access to services provided by advanced practice registered nurses under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and for other purposes, provisions related to scope of practice Medicare program: 21st Century Cures Act/implementation Medicare program: EHR Certification Medicare program: Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) Reform Medicare program: MACRA implementation Medicare program: Laboratory testing/Diagnostics/PAMA Medicare program: Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) quality/cost/improvement activities/promoting interoperability Medicare program: Merit-based Value Pathway Medicare program: Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) inflation updates/budget neutrality rules Medicare program: 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule/4.5% cut Medicare program: Accountable specialty care/payments Medicare program: Alternative Payment Models/incentive payments Medicare program: Telehealth/COVID flexibilities Medicare program: Health IT burdens Medicare program: Self-measured blood pressure devices/benefit category Medicare program: Coding Medicare program: Primary Care First models Medicare program: Appropriate Use Criteria Medicare program: Opioids Medicare program: Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) Medicare program: Dental benefits Medicaid program: Uninsured and healthcare coverage/COVID-19 Medicare program: Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS)/revalidation Medicare program: Open Payments Medicaid program: Special Enrollment Period Medicaid program: Sickle Cell Disease Medicaid program: Improving Access to Physical and Mental Health Care for Children and Youth Under Medicaid and CHIP/draft Medicare program: Provider compliance and regulatory relief Medicare program: Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs)/Downcoding Medicare and Medicaid programs: Health Equity Medicare and Medicaid programs: Modifier 25, Impossible Day Medicare and Medicaid programs: Connected health technologies Medicare and Medicaid programs: Diabetes
Client expense: $4,360,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Healthcare issues related to clinical laboratories; H.R. 8188/S. 4449, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), provisions relating to reform of Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory services under Section 216 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, Pub. L. 113-93; H.R. 4128/S. 2209, the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act, included as Subtitle C of Title VIII of S. 4348, the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements Act (FDASLA), provisions relating to FDA oversight of laboratory-developed tests; H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, H.R. 6202, the Telehealth Extension Act, and H.R. 7573/S. 3593, the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, provisions relating to extension of Medicare coverage of telehealth services and limitations on payment for certain laboratory tests; H.R. 8152, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), provisions relating to data privacy; S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act, provisions relating to demographic data reporting obligations for laboratories; Federal policy related to implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. 116-127, provisions relating to coverage of and funding for COVID-19 diagnostic tests; Federal policy related to implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. 116-136, provisions relating to coverage and reimbursement of COVID-19 diagnostic tests and Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests; Federal policy relating to the National Correct Coding Initiative and manual instructions inconsistent with American Medical Association guidelines for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding; and Federal policy relating to availability of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $110,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
H.R. 8188/S. 4449 - Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act, provisions related to Medicare reimbursement for clinical diagnostics laboratory services S. 3593, Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act H.R. 4040, Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022
Client expense: $320,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S.3593 Telehealth Extension & Evaluation Act; H.R. 8487/S. 3018 Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act
Client expense: $730,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Increasing access to colorectal cancer screening; S. 3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; HR. 5986 - Men's Health Awareness and Improvement Act.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services CY2022 Physician Fee Schedule Issues related to ESRD bundled payment system cuts in the FY22 Appropriations bill HR 7878/S. 4307- Kidney Health Connect Act Draft legislation related to Charitable Premium Assistance for ESRD patients Issues related to Medicare Secondary Payer Act Ensuring ESRD Patients have access to Medicare Secondary Payer benefits as intended by Congress Telehealth policies/CMS Waivers S. 3593- Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act H.R.1332 - Telehealth Modernization Act Transitional Drug Add-on Payment Adjustment (TDAPA) Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 allotment Dialysis supply chain issues Dialysis preparedness planning
Client expense: $2,020,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Executive Office of the President (EOP), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Telemedicine legislation including H.R. 2903, S. 1512 - CONNECT for Health Act; H.R. 1332, S. 368 - Telehealth Modernization Act; H.R. 366 - Protecting Access to Post-COVID Telehealth Act; H.R. 4058, S. 2061 - Telemental Health Care Access Act; H.R. 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act; H.R. 1647, S. 340 - TREATS Act; H.R. 5981, S. 1704 - Telehealth Expansion Act; H.R. 7353 - Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act; H.R. 7573, S. 3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R. 4040 - Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act
Client expense: $120,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Mental health legislation; no draft, no bill introduced - access to genetic testing for mental health treatment decisions Telehealth provisions following PHE; HR6202/S3593 - provisions requiring in person visits prior to ordering lab tests
Client expense: $210,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Telemedicine legislation including H.R. 2903, S. 1512 - CONNECT for Health Act; H.R. 1332, S. 368 Telehealth Modernization Act; H.R. 366 -Protecting Access to Post-COVID Telehealth Act; H.R. 4058, S. 2061 - Telemental Health Care Access Act; H.R. 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act;H.R. 1647, S. 340 - TREATS Act; H.R. 5981, S. 1704 - Telehealth Expansion Act; H.R. 7353 Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act; H.R. 7573/S. 3593 Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act; H.R. 4040 Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act.
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $80,000
Government targets: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Telecommunications
Efforts relating to expanded access to telehealth services, including the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S. 368), the Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 5981/S. 1704), the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (H.R. 5541), the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act (H.R. 7573/S. 3593), and the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 7353).
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $30,000
Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
The Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, P.L. 111-152): Continued advocacy with Congress in support of expanding coverage and improving Medicare benefits; Providing needed protections to guard against insurance practices that unfairly limit, deny or rescind coverage based on health status; public and private health insurers should encourage preventive health care by providing full coverage, with no cost-sharing, for preventive services recommended by an expert advisory group, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Ensuring access to primary care physicians; and beginning to bend the cost curve; Prohibiting insurers from excluding or charging excessive rates to children based on pre-existing conditions, which later will be expanded to all persons; Covering young adults on their parents' plans; Eliminating lifetime and annual limits on health insurance coverage; Requiring that health insurers spend more on patient care and less on administration; Eliminating patient cost-sharing for preventive services offered by Medicare or private insurers; Increasing Medicare and Medicaid payments to primary care physicians; Supporting the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help physicians and patients make care decisions based on the best available evidence; Supporting the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to fund pilots of delivery models to improve outcomes and reduce costs, including patient-centered medical homes; Advocated against a December 2018 ruling by a federal judge in Texas that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Access to Primary Care (H.R. 3962/H.R. 3590/H.R. 4872): Provide sliding scale subsidies based on income to buy coverage from qualified plans; Qualified plans should: provide evidence-based benefits, including preventive services; and be prohibited from excluding persons with pre-existing conditions, charging them more, cherry-picking enrollees, or cancelling or failing to renew coverage; Expand Medicaid to cover all persons below the Federal Poverty Level and ensure fair payments to participating physicians; As coverage becomes affordable, all persons should participate and coverage should be guaranteed; Responsibility for financing should be shared by individuals, employers and government. Medicare Payments to Physicians: Urged that Congress provide incentives to physicians who transform their practices into Advanced Alternative Payment Models and continue to provide stability for physicians in the MIPS program. Specifically, Congress should extend the five percent Qualified Alternative Payment Model participant bonus beyond the 2022 performance year, replace the zero percent baseline payment updates under Medicare with positive updates. Urged congressional committees with jurisdiction over Medicare to exercise their oversight authority and urge CMS to expedite approval of more Advanced APMS, particularly those that work for small and specialty practices and to simplify the scoring structure and reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in order to fulfill Congress intent of a more streamlined program that reduces burdens on physicians; Supported S.2648, the Rural ACO Improvement Act, amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to ensure that all ACOs have an equal opportunity to share in savings regardless of their geographic location; Provided recommendations to CMS on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathway (MVP), which aims to reduce reporting burden and complexity within MIPS while improving the accuracy and effectiveness of performance measurement. The College noted specifically that a robust, multi-year transition period will be critical to the success of the MVP, that it does not support making the MVP mandatory, that CMS should continue to support numerous reporting mechanisms, including qualified registries and clinical data registries, which have been instrumental in developing specialty-specific performance measures, among other things. Urged that any legislation to hold some Medicare physician payment codes harmless from budget neutrality do so for just one year and to allow evaluation and management increases. Regarding CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) rules, expressed support for extending some of the services and increased flexibility for telehealth through the end of 2023, namely some audio-only services that were allowed during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), support for collecting additional data on health equity issues to analyze disparities that occur across their programs, support for including chronic care management as one of the seven MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) for 2023. Urged CMS to discontinue its split/shared visits policy and not move forward with the transition set to take effect in 2023. Urged Congress to support inclusion in must-pass legislation this year provisions to provide financial stability through a baseline positive annual update to the physician fee schedule reflecting inflation in practice costs, and eliminate, replace or revise budget neutrality requirements to allow for appropriate changes in spending growth; Extend the moratoriums on sequester and PAYGO cuts that were approved by Congress at the end of last year. FY2023 Appropriations: Urged Congress to support funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions programs in the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill as well as funding shared evenly between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. Advocated for funding for the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA); Title VII, Section 747, Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); National Health Service Corps (NHSC); Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). COVID-19: Urged congressional appropriators to provide the highest possible funding level for research, prevention, control, and treatment of illnesses associated with the virus that is commensurate with the public health emergency that the virus represents. Expressed support to Congress and the administration for a variety of COVID-related bills from the 116th Congress as follows: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, and other stimulus reforms related to COVID-19 including: Emergency paid leave benefits, paid sick days for public health emergencies, coverage of testing for COVID-19, waiving of cost sharing under Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and CHIP, increasing the federal FMAP under Medicaid, providing reimbursement for CPT codes 99441 - 99443, which are telephone evaluation and management services, expediting entrance of international medical graduates who are citizens of other nations (non-US IMGs) into the country and ensuring that lawfully present non-U.S. IMGs are not negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, funding for physician practices under the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), providing tax relief, grants, and loans to small and medium size practices impacted by COVID-19, increasing funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), ensuring Medicaid pay parity with Medicare for primary care services; Urged support for H.R. 7059, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act, which extend liability protections to those who provide care in good faith during the COVID-19 public health emergency (plus a reasonable time, such as 60 days, after the emergency declaration ends), and not in situations of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The College also urged that pay parity between telephone claims and in-person visits and between all telehealth and in-person visits be maintained after the PHE is lifted. Urged congress to mitigate the impact of covid across racial and ethnic minority populations by collect covid-19 and racial disparity data, equitably distribute covid-19 vaccines and treatments, protect essential workers, permanently expand access to family and medical leave, address environmental and social drivers of health, integrate primary care and behavioral health, improve mental health parity with increased federal oversight and enforcement, make naloxone more available to prevent overdose, expand medication-assisted treatment (mat) for physicians, establish a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP); urged support for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to all eligible immigrants in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Urged CMS to support increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake by ensuring clinicians are appropriately paid for vaccine counseling for beneficiaries of Medicaid and Medicare. Urged that telehealth services should remain in place for at least two years after the end of the PHE to ensure that our physicians are able to continue to use this modality to enhance patient care. Urged Congress to support the concept of a congressionally-mandated bipartisan commission to examine the U.S. preparations for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to inform future public policy and health systems preparedness. Urged that any uses of technology in the U.S. in the context of the pandemic should be demonstrated to be effective, be temporary, and ensure that safeguards for privacy and confidentiality are in place. Womens Health: Urged HHS to support Title X funding and ensure unencumbered access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive health care; eliminate medically unnecessary restrictions and inappropriate political interference in the patient-physician relationship; and protect funding for and ensures consistent treatment of qualified service sites. Urged support for mandatory, permanent extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage, from 60 days to 12 months after delivery. Urged support for the Womens Health Protection Act of 2021 and 2022 (H.R. 3755/S. 1975), bills that would protect a persons ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy and to protect the health care clinicians ability to provide abortion services free from medically unnecessary restrictions such as waiting periods, biased counselling and admitting privilege requirements for clinicians. Access to Care: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 340, the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2021, to expand federal matching assistance for states that choose to expand Medicaid, regardless of when such expansion takes place: Cosponsor and pass H.R. 369, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2021, to permanently expand eligibility for higher premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Primary Care and the Physician Workforce: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 2256/S. 834, the Resident Physician Reduction Shortage Act of 2021, to increase the number of GME slots to 14,000 over seven years for specialties facing shortages, including internal medicine; Cosponsor and pass S. 1024, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, to recapture 40,000 unused visas and use them to provide additional green cards to 15,000 physicians and 25,000 professional nurses; Cosponsor and pass H.R. 3541/S. 1810, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, to allow states to sponsor foreign-trained physicians to work in medically underserved areas in exchange for a waiver of the physicians' two-year foreign residence requirement; Cosponsor and pass H.R.4122/S.3658, the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act, to make it possible for residents to defer interest on their loans; Support inclusion in FY2023 appropriations legislation funding for Title VII Primary Care and Training Enhancement (PCTE) at $71 million to support and expand the pipeline for individuals training in primary care. Public Health and Pandemic Preparedness: Urged members of Congress to support funding in FY2023 appropriations - $11 billion total for the CDC, $35 million for the CDCs Injury Prevention and Control, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; $49 billion in total for the NIH, $25 million for the Office of the Director, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; Cosponsor and pass the COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 7007, or a similar supplemental funding package, to provide $15.6 billion in additional funding for COVID relief; Cosponsor and pass the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 2903/S. 1512) and the Telehealth Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 6202/S. 3593), to remove arbitrary restrictions on where a patient must be located to utilize telehealth services; enable patients to continue to receive telehealth services in their homes; ensure federally-qualified health centers and rural health centers can furnish telehealth services and improve data collection and analysis for at least two years. Prescription Drug Reform: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass S. 898, the Fair Drug Pricing Act, to require drug companies to disclose and provide more information about imminent drug-price increases, including data about research and development costs; Cosponsor and pass S. 833, the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2021, to help to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries; Cosponsor and pass S. 464/H.R. 2163, the Safe Step Act, to ensure patient access to appropriate treatments based on clinical decision-making and medical necessity rather than arbitrary step therapy protocols. Telehealth Services: Urged Congress to support H.R. 2903/S. 1512, the CONNECT for Health Act, to remove arbitrary barriers to telehealth services such as geographic and site of service restrictions; S. 168/H.R. 708, the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act, to ensure that telehealth services can be provided across states lines after the public health emergency ends; H.R. 8487, the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act that would help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burdens on physicians by standardizing and streamlining the prior authorization approval process in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Mental and Behavioral Health: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 5218, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, to provide grants through the Department of Health and Human Services to primary care physicians who choose to deliver behavioral health care through the Collaborate Care Model (CoCM); Support enhanced reimbursement for CoCM payment codes under Medicare to more appropriately reflect the value of services provided to patients with mental health and substance use disorder needs.
Client expense: $302,378 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), President of the U.S., SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
The Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148, P.L. 111-152): Continued advocacy with Congress in support of expanding coverage and improving Medicare benefits; Providing needed protections to guard against insurance practices that unfairly limit, deny or rescind coverage based on health status; public and private health insurers should encourage preventive health care by providing full coverage, with no cost-sharing, for preventive services recommended by an expert advisory group, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Ensuring access to primary care physicians; and beginning to bend the cost curve; Prohibiting insurers from excluding or charging excessive rates to children based on pre-existing conditions, which later will be expanded to all persons; Covering young adults on their parents' plans; Eliminating lifetime and annual limits on health insurance coverage; Requiring that health insurers spend more on patient care and less on administration; Eliminating patient cost-sharing for preventive services offered by Medicare or private insurers; Increasing Medicare and Medicaid payments to primary care physicians; Supporting the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help physicians and patients make care decisions based on the best available evidence; Supporting the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to fund pilots of delivery models to improve outcomes and reduce costs, including patient-centered medical homes; Advocated against a December 2018 ruling by a federal judge in Texas that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Access to Primary Care (H.R. 3962/H.R. 3590/H.R. 4872): Provide sliding scale subsidies based on income to buy coverage from qualified plans; Qualified plans should: provide evidence-based benefits, including preventive services; and be prohibited from excluding persons with pre-existing conditions, charging them more, cherry-picking enrollees, or cancelling or failing to renew coverage; Expand Medicaid to cover all persons below the Federal Poverty Level and ensure fair payments to participating physicians; As coverage becomes affordable, all persons should participate and coverage should be guaranteed; Responsibility for financing should be shared by individuals, employers and government. Medicare Payments to Physicians: Urged that Congress provide incentives to physicians who transform their practices into Advanced Alternative Payment Models and continue to provide stability for physicians in the MIPS program. Specifically, Congress should extend the five percent Qualified Alternative Payment Model participant bonus beyond the 2022 performance year, replace the zero percent baseline payment updates under Medicare with positive updates. Urged congressional committees with jurisdiction over Medicare to exercise their oversight authority and urge CMS to expedite approval of more Advanced APMS, particularly those that work for small and specialty practices and to simplify the scoring structure and reporting requirements under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in order to fulfill Congress intent of a more streamlined program that reduces burdens on physicians; Supported S.2648, the Rural ACO Improvement Act, amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the benchmarking process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to ensure that all ACOs have an equal opportunity to share in savings regardless of their geographic location; Provided recommendations to CMS on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System Value Pathway (MVP), which aims to reduce reporting burden and complexity within MIPS while improving the accuracy and effectiveness of performance measurement. The College noted specifically that a robust, multi-year transition period will be critical to the success of the MVP, that it does not support making the MVP mandatory, that CMS should continue to support numerous reporting mechanisms, including qualified registries and clinical data registries, which have been instrumental in developing specialty-specific performance measures, among other things. Urged that any legislation to hold some Medicare physician payment codes harmless from budget neutrality do so for just one year and to allow evaluation and management increases. Regarding CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) rules, expressed support for extending some of the services and increased flexibility for telehealth through the end of 2023, namely some audio-only services that were allowed during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), support for collecting additional data on health equity issues to analyze disparities that occur across their programs, support for including chronic care management as one of the seven MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) for 2023. Urged CMS to discontinue its split/shared visits policy and not move forward with the transition set to take effect in 2023. Urged Congress to support inclusion in must-pass legislation this year provisions to provide financial stability through a baseline positive annual update to the physician fee schedule reflecting inflation in practice costs, and eliminate, replace or revise budget neutrality requirements to allow for appropriate changes in spending growth; Extend the moratoriums on sequester and PAYGO cuts that were approved by Congress at the end of last year. FY2023 Appropriations: Urged Congress to support funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions programs in the FY 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bill as well as funding shared evenly between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research into firearm morbidity and mortality prevention. Advocated for funding for the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA); Title VII, Section 747, Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); National Health Service Corps (NHSC); Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). COVID-19: Urged congressional appropriators to provide the highest possible funding level for research, prevention, control, and treatment of illnesses associated with the virus that is commensurate with the public health emergency that the virus represents. Expressed support to Congress and the administration for a variety of COVID-related bills from the 116th Congress as follows: the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, and other stimulus reforms related to COVID-19 including: Emergency paid leave benefits, paid sick days for public health emergencies, coverage of testing for COVID-19, waiving of cost sharing under Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and CHIP, increasing the federal FMAP under Medicaid, providing reimbursement for CPT codes 99441 - 99443, which are telephone evaluation and management services, expediting entrance of international medical graduates who are citizens of other nations (non-US IMGs) into the country and ensuring that lawfully present non-U.S. IMGs are not negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, funding for physician practices under the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), providing tax relief, grants, and loans to small and medium size practices impacted by COVID-19, increasing funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), ensuring Medicaid pay parity with Medicare for primary care services; Urged support for H.R. 7059, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act, which extend liability protections to those who provide care in good faith during the COVID-19 public health emergency (plus a reasonable time, such as 60 days, after the emergency declaration ends), and not in situations of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The College also urged that pay parity between telephone claims and in-person visits and between all telehealth and in-person visits be maintained after the PHE is lifted. Urged congress to mitigate the impact of covid across racial and ethnic minority populations by collect covid-19 and racial disparity data, equitably distribute covid-19 vaccines and treatments, protect essential workers, permanently expand access to family and medical leave, address environmental and social drivers of health, integrate primary care and behavioral health, improve mental health parity with increased federal oversight and enforcement, make naloxone more available to prevent overdose, expand medication-assisted treatment (mat) for physicians, establish a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP); urged support for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to all eligible immigrants in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Urged CMS to support increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake by ensuring clinicians are appropriately paid for vaccine counseling for beneficiaries of Medicaid and Medicare. Urged that telehealth services should remain in place for at least two years after the end of the PHE to ensure that our physicians are able to continue to use this modality to enhance patient care. Urged Congress to support the concept of a congressionally-mandated bipartisan commission to examine the U.S. preparations for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to inform future public policy and health systems preparedness. Urged that any uses of technology in the U.S. in the context of the pandemic should be demonstrated to be effective, be temporary, and ensure that safeguards for privacy and confidentiality are in place. Womens Health: Urged HHS to support Title X funding and ensure unencumbered access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based reproductive health care; eliminate medically unnecessary restrictions and inappropriate political interference in the patient-physician relationship; and protect funding for and ensures consistent treatment of qualified service sites. Urged support for mandatory, permanent extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage, from 60 days to 12 months after delivery. Urged support for the Womens Health Protection Act of 2021 and 2022 (H.R. 3755/S. 1975), bills that would protect a persons ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy and to protect the health care clinicians ability to provide abortion services free from medically unnecessary restrictions such as waiting periods, biased counselling and admitting privilege requirements for clinicians. Access to Care: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 340, the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2021, to expand federal matching assistance for states that choose to expand Medicaid, regardless of when such expansion takes place: Cosponsor and pass H.R. 369, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2021, to permanently expand eligibility for higher premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Primary Care and the Physician Workforce: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 2256/S. 834, the Resident Physician Reduction Shortage Act of 2021, to increase the number of GME slots to 14,000 over seven years for specialties facing shortages, including internal medicine; Cosponsor and pass S. 1024, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, to recapture 40,000 unused visas and use them to provide additional green cards to 15,000 physicians and 25,000 professional nurses; Cosponsor and pass H.R. 3541/S. 1810, the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, to allow states to sponsor foreign-trained physicians to work in medically underserved areas in exchange for a waiver of the physicians' two-year foreign residence requirement; Cosponsor and pass H.R.4122/S.3658, the Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act, to make it possible for residents to defer interest on their loans; Support inclusion in FY2023 appropriations legislation funding for Title VII Primary Care and Training Enhancement (PCTE) at $71 million to support and expand the pipeline for individuals training in primary care. Public Health and Pandemic Preparedness: Urged members of Congress to support funding in FY2023 appropriations - $11 billion total for the CDC, $35 million for the CDCs Injury Prevention and Control, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; $49 billion in total for the NIH, $25 million for the Office of the Director, Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research; Cosponsor and pass the COVID Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 7007, or a similar supplemental funding package, to provide $15.6 billion in additional funding for COVID relief; Cosponsor and pass the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 2903/S. 1512) and the Telehealth Extension Act of 2021 (H.R. 6202/S. 3593), to remove arbitrary restrictions on where a patient must be located to utilize telehealth services; enable patients to continue to receive telehealth services in their homes; ensure federally-qualified health centers and rural health centers can furnish telehealth services and improve data collection and analysis for at least two years. Prescription Drug Reform: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass S. 898, the Fair Drug Pricing Act, to require drug companies to disclose and provide more information about imminent drug-price increases, including data about research and development costs; Cosponsor and pass S. 833, the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2021, to help to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries; Cosponsor and pass S. 464/H.R. 2163, the Safe Step Act, to ensure patient access to appropriate treatments based on clinical decision-making and medical necessity rather than arbitrary step therapy protocols. Telehealth Services: Urged Congress to support H.R. 2903/S. 1512, the CONNECT for Health Act, to remove arbitrary barriers to telehealth services such as geographic and site of service restrictions; S. 168/H.R. 708, the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act, to ensure that telehealth services can be provided across states lines after the public health emergency ends; H.R. 8487, the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act that would help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burdens on physicians by standardizing and streamlining the prior authorization approval process in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. Mental and Behavioral Health: Urged members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 5218, the Collaborate in an Orderly and Cohesive Manner Act, to provide grants through the Department of Health and Human Services to primary care physicians who choose to deliver behavioral health care through the Collaborate Care Model (CoCM); Support enhanced reimbursement for CoCM payment codes under Medicare to more appropriately reflect the value of services provided to patients with mental health and substance use disorder needs.
Client expense: $68,579 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS), President of the U.S., SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA)
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Issues related to telehealth S.3593 - Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act H.R.6202 - Telehealth Extension Act of 2021 Physician coverage and reimbursement issues
Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: $20,000
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Medicare/Medicaid
S 1315/HR 3630 - The Lymphedema Treatment At: Support passage. HR 5536 - Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy (SMART) Act: Advocated for passage and support introduction of similar legislation in the Senate. HR 2168/S3193 - Expanded Telehealth Access Act: Advocated for passage. S. 368/HR 1332 - Telehealth Modernization Act: Advocated for passage. HR 1990/S 2556 - Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act: Lobbied for changes to the bills to ensure the legislation does not disrupt the ability of occupational therapy practitioners to provide and bill for orthotics and prosthetics and related services under Medicare. S.4712-OT Mental Health Parity Act: Support Passage of bill to direct CMS to put forward guidance clarifying that occupational therapy services can be provided to a person with a mental or behavioral health diagnosis under Medicare and Medicaid. HR3173/S3018-Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act: Support passage. HR 6202 - Telehealth Extension Act: Endorsed S.3593 - Telehealth Extension & Evaluation Act: Endorsed HR 6770-PACE Plus Act and S 3626 PACE Expanded Act: Support passage HR 8201: Promoting Health Care Quality Act of 2002 - support passage. No bill: Supported efforts to include occupational therapy in new school-based Medicaid guidelines, where appropriate. HR 8800 - Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022: Advocate for passage
Client expense: $120,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE
2022 · third_quarter · Health Issues
Healthcare issues related to clinical laboratories; H.R. 8188/S. 4449, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), provisions relating to reform of Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory services under Section 216 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, Pub. L. 113-93; H.R. 4128/S. 2209, the Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act, included as Subtitle C of Title VIII of S. 4348, the FDA Safety and Landmark Advancements Act (FDASLA), provisions relating to FDA oversight of laboratory-developed tests; H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, H.R. 6202, the Telehealth Extension Act, and H.R. 7573/S. 3593, the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, provisions relating to extension of Medicare coverage of telehealth services and limitations on payment for certain laboratory tests; H.R. 8152, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), provisions relating to data privacy; S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act, provisions relating to demographic data reporting obligations for laboratories; H.R. 5030/S. 2706, the DIVERSE Trials Act, provisions relating to enhancing diversity in clinical trials and data collection and reporting by clinical laboratories; H.R. 2565/S. 2952, the FDA Modernization Act, provisions relating to biomedical research; H.R. 8693, the No Cost for Monkeypox Testing Act, provisions relating to third party payer coverage of monkeypox testing; S. 4734, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, provisions relating to patent subject matter eligibility; Federal policy related to implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Pub. L. 116-127, provisions relating to coverage of and funding for COVID-19 diagnostic tests; Federal policy related to implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. 116-136, provisions relating to coverage and reimbursement of COVID-19 diagnostic tests and Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests; Federal policy relating to the National Correct Coding Initiative and manual instructions inconsistent with American Medical Association guidelines for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding; and Federal policy relating to availability of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes.
Client expense: $260,000 · Firm income: Not reported
Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE