ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT


Review of the 116th Congress The House and Senate worked through many ASCA priorities this session BY STEVE SELDE


Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part column. Look for the first part in the November–December 2020 Advocacy Spotlight. The first part focused on the first session of the Congress and the various acts that impact ASCs; the second part dis- cusses other healthcare matters rel- evant to surgery centers and the sec- ond session of the Congress.


Additional Health Care Matters New FDA Commissioner In December 2019, the Senate confirmed Stephen


Hahn, an oncologist and top official at MD Anderson Cancer Center, as com- missioner of the Food & Drug Admin- istration (FDA). The Senate vote was 72 to 18. Hahn succeeded Scott Gott- lieb, MD, who was the first FDA com- missioner of the Trump administration.


Drug Pricing


Also, in December, the House passed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Respective com- mittees with jurisdiction in the House had spent the year reviewing various drug pricing proposals, ultimately cul- minating in this bill. Among other pro- visions, this legislation would require Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the drugs that cost the US health- care system the most, setting a maxi- mum price based on an average paid in other wealthy countries. Additionally, the bill would add an out-of-pocket cap for enrollees in Medicare Part D plans. Senate Republicans introduced


various measures that took different approaches compared to the House bill. In 2019, there was no biparti- san consensus on this issue. With the Democratic members’ focus on this


issue and passing a bill, it will likely remain in the next Congress.


Medical Device and Insurance Tax On December 20, 2019, President Don- ald Trump signed into law H.R.1865, the fiscal year 2020 Further Consoli- dated Appropriations Act. This $1.4 bil- lion spending package funded the gov- ernment through the end of fiscal year 2020 to avert a government shutdown. In addition to funding the govern-


ment, provisions of the legislation per- manently repealed the medical device tax and health insurance tax. Congress initially levied these taxes as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and subsequently delayed its effective date multiple times. Perma- nently repealing the 2.3 percent medi- cal device tax would provide certainty to manufacturers and ASCs alike and


30 ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2021 | ascfocus.org


prevent that tax from being passed through to your center and patients in higher prices. Similarly, repealing the health insurance tax would ensure that the tax is not passed through to patients in the form of higher premi- ums and coinsurance.


Facility Tours and Advocacy August is National ASC month and, during this time in 2019, ASCA mem- bers hosted 18 US representatives and senators on facility tours and edu- cated them about the ASC commu- nity and its priorities. Facility tours, which have gone virtual this year, are one of the most effective ways for you to advocate for the ASC community. In September 2019, 60 ASCA members, representing 15 different states, participated in ASCA’s 2019 National Advocacy Day and met with


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