Congress has a number of important healthcare issues currently pending, but whether any get resolved before the end of the term is still to be seen.

In this episode of Complications: Health Policy Unraveled, Stephanie Kennan explores key healthcare policy issues before Congress, including PBM reform, healthcare transparency, cybersecurity, insulin pricing, protection of health data, and budget appropriations. 

Meet Your Host

Name: Stephanie Kennan 

Title: Senior Vice President, Federal Public Affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting

Specialty: Stephanie Kennan helps clients navigate the legislative and executive branches of the federal government to solve problems involving a variety of healthcare policy issues. Her work focuses on providers, medical device manufacturers, drug manufacturers and associations concerned about Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.

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Episode Highlights

[0:36] Though both the House and Senate have been working on PBM reform for years, including pushing legislation through committees, it continues to be excluded from any healthcare packages.

[1:50] In attempts to increase healthcare transparency, Congress now requires insurers to publish price lists but legislation aimed at improving upon these measures have been stalled.

[3:15] The newly introduced Healthcare Cybersecurity Improvement Act would provide accelerated payments to healthcare providers in the event of a cyber breach so long as they meet cybersecurity standards.

[5:13] Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act lowered the cost of insulin, but Congress is poised to institute more sweeping reforms after manufacturers began capping costs and creating savings programs.

[5:51] Legislation is pending in both the House and the Senate that would prohibit the control of biotechnology by foreign adversaries so as to protect Americans’ genetic information.

[6:48] Budget and appropriations are also on the forefront of Congress’s mind at the moment and may involve healthcare ramifications, such as raising the age of Social Security and overhauling Medicare.

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