As you may have read, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate current House Budget Chairman Tom Price (who is a physician) to head the Department of Health and Human Services. The department oversees federal agencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To be confirmed Chairman Price, a Georgia Republican, would need a simple majority of Senate floor votes to win confirmation. Since the announcement many in the Senate have offered their support and praise for Mr. Price and currently there appears to be no significant hurdles for his nomination.
It is important to note that Chairman Price has been a leading advocate for stopping the CMS pre-claim review demonstration and TAHC&H has worked very closely with him and his office on the congressional letters and current legislation (PUSH Act) he has sponsored and led. Rachel Hammon, Executive Director is in DC this week and is scheduled to meet with Chairman Price's office on PCR and other issues of interest to home health.
Chairman Price has been a critic of President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul. As HHS secretary, Price would likely have a large amount of influence over the creation of a new system. Price also would have broad authority over how to phase out the current system. He could, for example, choose not to enforce a mandate that requires most individuals to have health insurance, a key provision in the overall success of the law. He also probably would likely not enforce a mandate for many employers to cover their workers.
Chairman Price has introduced legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (H.R. 2300, the Empowering Patients First Act). The bill would take a similar approach to the route outlined in Speaker Paul D. Ryan's "Better Way" agenda, but with several differences. Click on this link for a detailed summary, which may be useful as a guide to his future policy positions as Secretary.
Price's nomination will open up the House Budget chairmanship and much jockeying is likely to ensue, however no Texans are in line to be Chairman of that Committee, especially in light of Texas already commanding seven full committee chairmanships.
Right now it appears there is momentum to repeal the ACA early in the new Administration, but any repeal would likely include a transition period to allow individuals on the current insurance exchanges time to get new coverage. TAHC&H is also very aware that House leadership, in particular Chairman Brady from Texas, will be working to enact changes to Medicare next session. Senior staff from Chairman Brady's office are already working to draft legislation for next year. TAHC&Hs Executive Director is also set to meet with Chairman Brady and his office this week among several other congressional offices. Of note, Chairman Brady and Chairman Price have a good relationship and Mr. Price, at the helm of HHS, would likely influence what changes Congress considers to the Medicare benefit such as VBP for example.
In addition to Chairman Price's nomination, the president-elect also announced his choice of Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of CMS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Ms. Verma has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate the systems and working with a number of governor's offices. Of particular note, Ms. Verma worked with Vice President-elect Mike Pence on his Medicaid expansion plan in Indiana, which provides health savings accounts to people who qualify for benefits. That plan in Indiana provides some insight into what could be further contemplated. Proposals like block grants to states would likely be contemplated by the Administrator as well.
TAHC&H will continue to advocate for quality and the economic viability of agencies in Texas. We will continue to provide updates as the transition progresses.