BPC Praises Draft Chronic Care Bill, National Coalition On Health Care Urges Quick Passage
The Senate Finance Committee has created a chronic care discussion draft, with the Bipartisan Policy Center calling it the “culmination of two years of inclusive, thoughtful deliberations”. The National Coalition on Health Care has encouraged lawmakers to push the legislation through, with the American Hospital Association supporting a number of the draft’s proposals, particularly those on telehealth. Should the draft be made law, the Independence and Home demonstration would be extended by two years, and kidney-failure patients would be able to enrol in Medicare Advantage. Telehealth restrictions would be relaxed, and the rules on assigning beneficiaries to accountable care organizations would be altered. The bill is unlikely to be passed this year, and may be included in a possible Medicare package in 2017 instead.

The Senate Finance Committee's newly unveiled draft chronic care legislation is drawing support from a high-profile bipartisan group comprising former top administration and congressional leaders as well as from a broad-based alliance of health care, labor, business and consumer groups. The Bipartisan Policy Center praised the draft legislation and noted it drew from some of the center's proposals. Separately, the National Coalition on Health Care urged lawmakers to quickly move the legislation forward. BPC called the wide-ranging, bipartisan draft bill...