Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Health Legislative Hearing

Today we will examine several bills that work to address challenges in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, as well as bills that aim to enhance health care cybersecurity. This hearing will further our efforts in finding ways to improve the Medicare payment system and provide greater stability for health care providers across the country. Under the leadership of Dr. Michael Burgess, this committee and subcommittee worked diligently to modernize and improve Medicare Physician Payment, especially through the Medicare Access and Children's Health Care Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, or MACRA. It is important that we continue to build on those efforts because we still hear of the challenges providers face due to payment uncertainty and regulatory complexity, which can divert time and resources away from patient care. These pressures can be particularly difficult for independent rural practices with limited resources and frequent changes to payment policies can make it even harder to provide care. One of the bills before us today is the Patients First Act, which would comprehensively modernize physician payment for the first time since MACRA became the law in 2015. The bill is led by Representative Joyce of Pennsylvania and Representative Schrier of Washington. I want to thank both members for their work on this policy, which gives us an opportunity to address some of the longstanding challenges within the Medicare Physician Payment system. The Provider Reimbursement Stability Act is another bill that aims to update the underlying structure of the physician fee schedule to improve predictability for physician payments, and it is being led by Representative Murphy of North Carolina and Representative Schneider of Illinois. MACRA tried to move away from the traditional fee-for-service payment structure, which requires recurring legislative doc fixes to prevent scheduled payment cuts to doctor reimbursements. While MACRA permanently repealed the older sustainable growth rate formula that caused significant payment challenges, Congress still has to consider short-term legislative patches to stabilize fee-for-service payment rates. By the end of this year, we in Congress will again need to look at a potential doc fix, and these bills try to get at some of those challenges. Another bill before us is the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacy Services Act, or ECAPS, led by Representative Smith of Nebraska and Representative Schneider of Illinois. This legislation would expand Medicare coverage for certain pharmacists' services, such as pharmacists providing testing. Community pharmacists are often among the most accessible providers in rural areas, which makes this legislation important for communities such as my district, where many patients consider the pharmacy a critical point of care. Additionally, the Alzheimer's Screening and Prevention Act, or ASAP Act, is led by Representative Buchanan of Florida and Representative Tonko of New York, and it would create a pathway for Medicare to cover FDA-approved blood-based biomarker screening tests for early detection of Alzheimer's and other related dementias. Further, I look forward to continuing the work on the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, which aims to help prepare rural hospitals and practitioners for obstetric emergencies. It is led by Representative Kelly of Pennsylvania and Representative Kim of California. We often hear about the challenges women and families face in accessing maternal health care, particularly in rural areas such as my district. Many communities face shortages of obstetric providers, limited access to local maternity services, and growing maternity care deserts, and it is important that we continue to look for ways to address the maternal health care crisis that is facing our country. Two other bills before us today are the Kidney Care Access Protection Act and the Keeping Individuals with Dialysis Needs Equipped Through Year-Round Remote Monitoring Act, which both aim to improve care access for individuals affected by kidney disease. Among several other Medicare payment reform bills, we will also discuss bills related to therapeutic shoes for those with diabetes, as well as legislation that modernizes and expands access to cyber resources to help combat growing cybersecurity threats. I am looking forward to our conversation, and thank you to the witnesses for being here today.