A number of recent Congressional hearings have focused on health policy issues, including the following:
- A House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on legislation intended to improve the Medicare Program: H.R. 556, Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act; H.R. 1934, Cancer Care Payment Reform Act; and draft legislation to make changes to the Medicare home health face-to-face encounter requirement;
- An Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the Affordable Care Act’s state insurance marketplaces;
- A Senate Finance Committee hearing on improper payments in federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid;
- A Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on “Achieving the Promise of Health Information Technology”; and
- House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the impact of health insurance industry consolidation on competition.
Coming up, the Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled an October 8 hearing on seven legislative proposals to combat drug abuse.