NRHA applauds Ways and Means Committee for Medicare markup
The Ways and Means Committee favorably reported four Medicare bills in a markup held today. In his opening statement, Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) emphasized the bipartisan nature of the bills, saying “when we have a chance to find common ground – to move our country forward – we shouldn’t shy away from that.” The bills addressed Medicare fraud (H.R. 1021, Protecting the Integrity of Medicare Act of 2015), addressed certain issues with durable medical equipment bidding (H.R. 284, the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2015), require patients be informed when they are held more than 24 hours on observation status (H.R. 876, the NOTICE Act), and exclude patient encounters in ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) from counting for meaningful use until EHRs are certified for use in an ASC (H.R. 887, the Electronic Health Fairness Act of 2015). The National Rural Health Association is pleased to see the committee marking up important bipartisan legislation and continues to work with the Ways and Means Committee on issues of rural health. Learn more about Medicare bills and other legislation impacting rural health at NRHA’s 38th Annual Rural Health Conference April 14-17 in Philadelphia.