Congressional Spending, Tax Extender Package Includes Major Positives for Patients, Healthcare System
WASHINGTON – A package of spending measures and tax extenders announced by congressional leaders last night contains provisions that will strengthen healthcare innovation and benefit patients and the healthcare system as a whole, the president of the Healthcare Leadership Council said today.
HLC president Mary R. Grealy praised Capitol Hill negotiators for taking steps that will enable financial resources to be better used to improve healthcare quality for patients and consumers. She mentioned, specifically:
- The two-year moratorium on the Affordable Care Act’s tax on medical devices and a one-year moratorium on the ACA’s health insurance excise tax.
“These steps continue to bolster optimism that Congress can make positive, productive changes to the Affordable Care Act, just as it did with the earlier PACE Act to make health insurance more affordable for small employers,” Ms. Grealy said.
- A $2 billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health.
“This is a smart investment, given all that we can do and must do to accelerate progress in precision medicine, brain research and the fundamental translational research that provides steps toward new cures and treatments,” she said.
- A $15 million reduction in funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
“Of course, the preferable action would be outright repeal of IPAB,” Ms. Grealy said. “Patients would be harmed by an unelected, unaccountable board of political appointees making arbitrary cuts in Medicare expenditures without regard to program value. IPAB repeal must remain a congressional priority, but this cut in budget authority is a step in the right direction.”
- Cybersecurity provisions that enable healthcare companies and organizations to share real-time information on potential cyberthreats without facing legal ramifications for doing so.
“Healthcare information systems are a critical component in our nation’s response to major crises. We need to protect these systems without placing onerous regulatory burdens on healthcare providers or making them vulnerable to legal jeopardy,” Ms. Grealy said.
The Healthcare Leadership Council is a coalition of chief executives of companies and organizations representing all sectors of American healthcare.
