HLC Urges Congress to Act on Patient-Centered Priorities Before Year End

Washington, DC: Today, the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) sent a letter to Capitol Hill leadership outlining patient-centric policy priorities to consider during this “lame duck” session of Congress.

HLC President and CEO Maria Ghazal wrote:

“With funding for federal discretionary programs expiring on December 20th, HLC urges Congress to take up and enact key legislative items as part of an end-of-the-year package to fund the government, preserve expiring flexibilities, and extend authorizations for healthcare programs necessary to support patients and communities.” Adding, that it is vital to “reauthorize critical health initiatives to ensure continued access to care, foster innovation, and address the evolving needs of our nation’s healthcare system.”

The priorities outlined in the letter include:

• Extending policies to protect telehealth flexibilities for seniors, individuals covered by HSA-eligible HDHPs and employees.
• Renewing Medicare’s Acute Hospital Care-at-Home (AHCAH) Waiver Program.
• Allowing Medicare to permanently reimburse pharmacist-administered testing, vaccinating, and delivering of medications.
• Extending funding for community health centers.
• Reauthorizing both the Older American’s Act (OAA), and the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA).

Full letter can be found here.