A senior Democratic adviser said House Democrats spent the past month trying to fix intrapartial differences in how to protect patients from sometimes out-of-network charges, usually from specialized or emergency physicians. But potential sticking points remain, and Democrats say Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is opposed to including the reforms in the stimulus. McConnell’s office declined to comment.
The White House also has He came up with a proposal to simply ban surprise billing and let health plans and providers negotiate a solution. But medical groups that exert significant influence in Congress think the plan would give insurers too much influence. Private equity-backed doctors and staff firms helped leaders billing reforms last year by leaders of the Chamber of Energy and Commerce and the HELP Senate after an intense lobbying and advertising blitz.
Lobbyists and patient advocates supporting a billing arrangement are still waiting for McConnell to give in, signaling the White House’s involvement and that the issue is a priority for his friend Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Chair of the HELP Committee, who will retire this year. .
“Every honest person in this city knows it is the last train to leave the station and if surprise billing is not done in the next three weeks, Congress has resigned and disappointed patients across the country,” said James Gelfand , lobbyist for the ERISA Industry Committee representing large employers.
Beyond McConnell, another key lawmaker who has yet to show his letters during the pandemic is House Ways and Means President Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Who has pushed for a more doctor-friendly and hospital-friendly proposal. endorsing Energy and Commerce and HELP Committee Plan say it would raise prices and then insurance premiums.
Neal, a 30-year veteran of Congress, faces a tough main challenge from progressive Alex Morse, the mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, who has shown the problem since Neal stepped in and blocked Congress from passing reforms in late last year. A new progressive group called Fight Corporate Monopolies is spending $ 300,000 on ads to portray Neal as a captive to private equity interests benefiting from surprise medical bills.
Health experts think lawmakers may ultimately be wary of crossing hospitals and doctors during a pandemic that is significantly affecting their finances and clearing the problem until next year.
Senate Republicans want to spend more money on Covid-19 tests, though White House is reluctant to launch to add an additional $ 25 billion, saying the CDC still has unspent funds from past aid packages. Democrats charge that the move is another administration attempt to hide case numbers across the country.
The government has relied on private insurance to finance most of the tests in the country. But as supply shortages increase and test response times are delayed, the Trump administration is freeing private health plans to pay for public health surveillance diagnosis and return to work, unannounced an alternative financing strategy.
Health plans urge Congress to fill the gap with public funds. But the administration maintains that nearly $ 13 billion of the last $ 25 billion reserved for testing has yet to be spent. A senior administration official also said states, municipalities, and tribes have spent less than $ 100 million of the $ 10 billion they have received from the feds.
Meanwhile, public health groups say health departments across the country need more resources as cases increase in almost every state.
“The stakeholder community is 100 percent opposed to this kind of thinking,” said Adriane Casalotti, head of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “We are in this long-term pandemic. All levels of government public health response need more investment. ”
The Republican Party bailout package is also not expected to address several other costly and closely watched health issues: increased Medicaid funding or private insurance subsidies for newly unemployed Americans who have lost their workplace health plans.
Democrats in Congress and governors have pushed for yet another increase in the federal portion of Medicaid spending after Congress gave states a temporary 6 percent increase in March. States facing budget deficits warn they will have to cut benefits without further federal aid,
Brianna Ehley contributed to this report.
