Human Services Brain Science Interventions And Policy Implications"Immigration Bill Splitting House G.O.P.," Jonathan Weisman and Ashley Parker, The Washington Post, April 4, 2014..On Monday, with a vote mostly along party lines of 55-43, lawmakers in the Senate confirmed the nomination of Seema Verma, who now serves as the administrator of the trillion agency that has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid. Previously, Verma worked as a health care consultant, and she played a leading role in redesigning Indiana's Medicaid program under then-Governor Mike Pence..The Senior Citizens League is pleased that Congress has successfully negotiated a repeal of the SGR, since the flawed formula has not worked as intended for twelve years. It has called for physician pay cuts some as steep as 30 percent more than seventeen times, threatening access to quality medical care for beneficiaries. We are hopeful that the new payment system will bring increased stability to the Medicare program. … Continued
Prevent Concussions Myth Vs FactAt a prescription drug forum in Central Virginia in November 2019, I heard from seniors who share these feelings. They're tired of seeing their drug costs rising. They're tired of having no way to understand why these prices continue to spike, and they're tired of lawmakers who refuse to act on an issue that impacts millions of seniors and families across our country each day..Rep. Allyson Schwartz introduced H.R. 574 on February 6, 201It has since been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on Ways and Means where it awaits further action..One of the first steps in bringing down prices is demanding transparency from the many players in the prescription drug supply chain. Many experts point to pharmacy benefit managers as potentially contributing to rising list prices and out-of-pocket costs. PBMs are the veritable middlemen of the drug industry - they serve as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, health insurers, and pharmacies. Some believe that, during this process, drug makers are forced to raise the list prices of their drugs just so they can offset the costs of rebates paid to these PBMs. … Continued