The Senate is seeking to move a comprehensive infrastructure package, voting rights reform, and police reform bills. Action (or inaction) this week could be an indicator for how the rest of the year will go on these issues and a host of others. Can the Senate work on a bipartisan basis?
Last week the House of Representatives moved a deeming resolution that would set an overall discretionary spending limit for the upcoming fiscal year (FY). This week we are expecting the House Appropriation Committee to begin marking up some of the FY 2022 spending bills. There could be activity on the House floor as soon as next week. The finish line (all fiscal year spending bills signed into law) is a long way away, but this is where the road starts.
Late last year the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) was signed into law and included within it were provisions that bar surprise billing in most healthcare settings and establishes new transparency requirements. The surprise billing provisions are effective beginning January 1, 2022. To implement the provisions of the law, Congress tasked the US Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and Labor with developing three regulations. The first of the three regulations will focus on payment methodology and is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget. It will be an interim final rule and is expected by July 1, 2021. The second regulation should be published by October 1, 2021, and will establish an audit process. The third regulation should be published by December 27, 2021, and will detail the independent resolution dispute (IDR) process. Once the first regulation is published it will be the first shoe to drop in the implementation of the surprise billing requirements.
On this week’s McDermottPlus Healthcare Preview Podcast, Debbie Curtis and Rodney Whitlock preview the rule-making process for the Surprise Medical Billing law. Late last year the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) was signed into law and included within it were provisions that bar surprise billing in most healthcare settings and establishes new transparency requirements. The surprise billing provisions are effective beginning January 1, 2022.
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