Congress has had its hands full on various pieces of legislation this week, including a response to the Zika Virus, cost-saving programs for Medicare, and the expansion of health savings accounts, to name a few.
House:
H.R. 4396, Frank Pallone, to support a comprehensive public health response to the heroin and prescription drug abuse crisis
H.R. 4400, G.K. Butterfield-Susan Brooks, to expand the tropical disease product priority review voucher program to encourage treatments for Zika virus
H.R. 4428, Diane Black, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure fairness in Medicare hospital payments by establishing a floor for the area wage index applied with respect to certain hospitals
H.R. 4435, Gene Green, to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, crisis, and recovery services
H.R. 4442, Diane Black-Peter Welch, to amend titles XVIII and XI of the Social Security Act to promote cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, and for other purposes
H.R. 4446, Chris Stewart, to authorize the use of Ebola funds for Zika response and preparedness
H.R. 4447, Joe Courtney, to make appropriations to address the heroin and opioid drug abuse epidemic for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes
H.R. 4469, Erik Paulsen, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve access to health care through expanded health savings accounts, and for other purposes
Senate:
S. 2467, Sheldon Whitehouse, to reduce health care-associated infections and improve antibiotic stewardship through enhanced data collection and reporting, the implementation of state-based quality improvement efforts, and improvements in provider education in patient safety, and for other purposes
S. 2479, Richard Blumenthal, to amend Public Health Service Act to expand access to prescription drug monitoring programs
S. 2484, Brian Schatz, to amend titles XVIII and XI of the Social Security Act to promote cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, and for other purposes
S. 2495, Mike Crapo, to amend the Social Security Act relating to the use of determinations made by the Commissioner
S. 2498, Michael Bennet, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a pilot program to improve care for the most costly Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries through the use of comprehensive and effective care management while reducing costs to the Federal Government for these beneficiaries, and for other purposes
S. 2499, Orrin Hatch, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve access to health care through expanded health savings accounts, and for other purposes
S. 2500, Michael Bennet, to provide for the establishment of a health insurance premium reduction program to ensure that health insurance premiums remain low for American families
S. 2503, Patty Murray, to establish requirements for reusable medical devices relating to cleaning instructions and validation data, and for other purposes