This Week in Washington: Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray and Ranking Member Richard Burr Release Discussion Draft of Bipartisan Pandemic and Public Health Response Bill
The House has a district work period this week.
House
Bicameral Democratic Health Committee Members Express Support for Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023
On Jan. 27, members of the Bicameral Democratic Health Committee wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure expressing their support for the proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) 2023 Proposed Rule. The Proposed NBPP aims to improve shopping for healthcare coverage and advance equity for consumers purchasing Marketplace coverage, and was released on Dec. 28, 2021.
The letter was signed by Reps. Richard Neal (D-MA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), who stated that the Proposed NBPP will lower healthcare costs and make coverage options more equitable.
The letter can be found here.
Senate
Sens. Murray and Burr Release Discussion Draft of Bipartisan Pandemic Bill
On Jan. 25, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) released the discussion draft of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats (PREVENT) and Pandemics Act. The bipartisan bill aims to strengthen public health, preparedness and response systems. Specifically, the bill would improve coordination among public health preparedness agencies, strengthen supply chain and government stockpiles of medical supplies, improve detecting and monitoring capabilities and establish an independent task force to carry out a review of the COVID-19 response. The bill would also expedite the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) review of medical countermeasures and require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director be subject to Senate confirmation.
A press release on the discussion draft, which describes the bill’s measures in greater detail, can be found here.
The legislative text for the discussion draft can be found here.
Read more on healthcare policy in McGuireWoods Consulting’s Washington Healthcare Update.