Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump's FDA Chief Called By House Committee For Questioning
Politico: House Panel Probing Covid Response Seeks To Question Former FDA Chief
A congressional committee investigating the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic is calling former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn to appear for questioning. In a letter released by the committee Monday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis requested Hahn, who served as a member of President Donald Trump’s White House Covid-19 task force, to agree to a transcribed interview and produce relevant documents to its investigation. (Banco, 11/22)
ABC News: Dozens In Congress Still Vote Remotely As Critics Slam COVID Policy
Millions of American workers have returned to the office, and most children are back to in-person learning at schools, but dozens of members of the U.S. House of Representatives are still literally phoning in their votes to Washington, citing an "ongoing public health emergency." At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, House Democrats took the unprecedented step to establish rules allowing any lawmaker to vote by proxy if he or she could not attend proceedings in-person because of the pandemic. (Dwyer, Siegel, Maile and Thomas, 11/22)
In news on Medicare and surprise billing —
Modern Healthcare: Expanding Medicare's Hearing, Vision Coverage Could Reduce Health Inequities
Broadening Medicare coverage of vision and hearing services would significantly expand access to the most vulnerable U.S. residents at minimal cost to taxpayers, new research shows. Medicare beneficiaries with incomes below the federal poverty level spent less than half per year on vision services and nearly three times as less on hearing services than their higher-earning peers, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute. The data suggest that there is a vast unmet need for glasses, hearing aids and other related care among low-income Medicare beneficiaries and that those items are likely lower quality. (Kacik, 11/22)
CNBC: How Medicare Could Change If Democrats' Spending Bill Becomes Law
Some significant changes to Medicare could be on their way. With the House passage of the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act on Friday, provisions that would improve Medicare have moved a step closer to becoming law. The Senate must still pass its version and the possibility exists that any final measure agreed upon by both chambers may look different from what’s in play now. (O'Brien, 11/22)
KHN: Becerra Says Surprise Billing Rules Force Doctors Who Overcharge To Accept Fair Prices
Overpriced doctors and other medical providers who can’t charge a reasonable rate for their services could be put out of business when new rules against surprise medical bills take effect in January, and that’s a good thing, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told KHN, in defending the regulations. The proposed rules represent the Biden administration’s plan to carry out the No Surprises Act, which Congress passed to spare patients from the shockingly high bills they get when one or more of their providers unexpectedly turn out to be outside their insurance plan’s network. (McAuliff, 11/22)
