Statement by John Rother, President & CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care—the nation’s oldest & broadest-based health care alliance—on Congressional progress in addressing chronic disease costs
“NCHC commends Energy and Commerce and the Ways and Means Committees for advancing bipartisan Medicare chronic care bills yesterday. These constructive home-based primary care and telehealth bills are examples of the innovative care strategies that we will need to improve the affordability and efficiency across our health care system.
“It’s vital that Congress keep advancing constructive, bipartisan solutions to bring down the cost of care, while avoiding policies that merely shift the costs around. The Senate should take the next step by advancing the CHRONIC Care Act, unanimously approved by the Finance Committee earlier this year.”
The NCHC-supported bills that advanced yesterday in the Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health include:
- HR 3263, to Extend the Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration program, sponsored by Rep. Mike Burgess (R-TX) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
- HR 1148, Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)
The Ways and Means Committee advanced the following NCHC-supported bill:
- HR 3727, “to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to include additional telehealth services for purposes of MA organization bids, and for other purposes,” sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA)
For more on these issues, see