Congress passed, and President Biden signed, coronavirus (COVID-19) relief legislation.
Biden Signed American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARP) largely follows President Biden’s initial $1.9 trillion proposal. The ARP extends unemployment insurance benefits and provides $1,400 stimulus payments to qualifying Americans. It also makes several important health policy changes, including providing funding for vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing, making policy adjustments to Medicaid, facilitating insurance coverage and providing another $8.5 billion through a Provider Relief Fund look-alike mechanism to specifically support rural providers. The final bill also makes two narrowly focused Medicare payment changes. The version that was signed into law ultimately did not include a federal minimum wage increase, or a number of other financial and regulatory support provisions sought by healthcare providers. A summary of the major health-related provisions of the law is available here.
Sequestration Relief Bills Introduced. House Democrats introduced a bill that would extend the current Medicare sequester moratorium through the end of 2021. The 2% cut to Medicare payments was suspended by Congress multiple times during the public health emergency, most recently through March 31, 2021. Healthcare providers unsuccessfully urged Congress to include additional relief in the ARP. In addition, the bill exempts the ARP from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, which requires that automatic payment cuts be put into place if a statutory action creates a net increase in the deficit. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the increase to the deficit caused by the ARP would require further reductions in Medicare spending of four percentage points (or an estimated $36 billion) for fiscal year 2022 if congressional action is not taken to waive the requirement. If implemented, these additional cuts would be on top of the 2% cut, possibly cutting Medicare payments by 6%. On the Senate side, a bipartisan bill from Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) is expected to be introduced next Monday that would also extend the Medicare sequester moratorium.
HHS Proposed Delay of Health Center Insulin Pricing Rule. Continuing efforts to postpone and review Trump-era regulations that have not yet taken effect, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week proposed delaying the effective date of a rule, which would require federally qualified health centers to make insulin and injectable epinephrine available at 340B prices to low-income individuals, from March 22, 2021, to July 20, 2021. HHS will accept comments on the proposed delay through March 14.
The Senate is expected to confirm Xavier Becerra as HHS Secretary. The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on the COVID-19 response, and the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the impact of the pandemic on nursing homes. The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Biden Administration’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccinations, and the Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on healthcare access in the US Territories.
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