House and Senate committees have held a number of hearings recently to focus on health policy topics, including the following:
- A Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing on “The Cost of Prescription Drugs: How the Drug Delivery System Affects What Patients Pay,” the first of three planned hearings on prescription drug costs.
- A House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Medicare Advantage and coordinated care models such as the Program for All-Inclusive Care.
- Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee hearings examining the Trump Administration’s proposed FY 2018 HHS budget request.
- House Energy and Commerce Committee hearings on the HHS response to cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the U.S. public health response to the Zika Virus. A planned June 14 hearing on extension of safety net health programs (the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and the Community Health Center Fund) has been postponed.
In addition, the Senate Finance Committee approved the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017. Among other things, the bill is intended to improve care for the chronically ill through increased use of telehealth, including in Medicare Advantage plans and certain accountable care organizations (ACOs), and the promotion of care coordination, including through an ACO Beneficiary Incentive Program.