NOT SO FAST — Lawmakers and lobbyists are pushing to see a bipartisan price transparency bill go to the House floor — before August recess, Megan R. Wilson, Ben and your host report. But a leadership aide granted anonymity to discuss the plans told Pulse that ongoing committee work on the issues means it’s more likely to get handled later this year. The plan to get a vote for the PATIENT Act in the House in the coming weeks is circulating among lawmakers and lobbyists, said four lobbyists and a GOP congressional aide. Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office did not respond to requests for comment about whether he would move a health package in the few legislative days left before August. Meanwhile, Patient Rights Advocate, a group that has pushed for price transparency policy across Congress, is launching a new digital ad campaign today — shared first with Pulse — in House leaderships’ districts. The bill, unanimously advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May, would codify and expand price transparency rules for hospitals and insurers and add disclosure requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, which manage prescription drugs for health insurers. The measure is part of a larger movement in Congress to increase transparency as a way to lower health care costs. It’s more sweeping than other transparency measures, reauthorizing several health care programs that expire on Sept. 30, including funding for community health centers and diabetes programs and delaying payment cuts for hospitals that serve low-income individuals for two years. BUT THE BILL COULD HAVE COMPETITION — The House Education and the Workforce Committee advanced four bipartisan transparency-heavy bills on Wednesday, Ben and Megan R. Wilson report. There’s some overlap with the broad Energy and Commerce bill — including one that would codify price transparency rules — but others that go further, such as legislation aiming to ensure that employers aren’t barred by PBMs or others from including cost and quality information on their plans. It’s unclear, though, how or which of these measures could fit into an overall health care package. “We’re on the cusp of a necessary overhaul of a health care system that has left patients in the dark,” Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) told POLITICO in a statement. “Whether these bills are brought to the floor individually or in a package, the only thing that matters is getting them across the finish line and to the president’s desk.” VA HEALTH CARE HEARING — The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee is working on a bipartisan health care legislative package, ranking member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said at a hearing Wednesday, Ben reports. It’s not clear what that might look like, but the committee considered 19 bills Wednesday, which included efforts to put more scrutiny on the VA’s troubled electronic health record program, bolster long-term care and reduce veterans’ homelessness. There was also a focus on community care — allowing veterans to get care outside the VA. Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has touted the Making Community Care Work for Veterans Act, which would help strengthen the community care program established in the VA MISSION Act, which became law in 2018. The VA came out against key parts of the legislation in written testimony, saying it could create "significant operational challenges,” and also opposed significant portions of Moran’s community care bill. The Disabled American Veterans group also was critical of Tester and Moran’s bills, saying their provisions codifying access standards won’t “by itself” increase access to care, but boosting infrastructure and staffing would. Moran suggested there could be a compromise bill with Tester’s legislation and his own.
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