Senator Cassidy Releases More Health Care Reform Proposals

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has released a white paper on health care reform proposals he would like Congress to act on, ahead of a bill he introduced to mandate price transparency in health care. He discussed the proposals and other health topics with Politico’s Pulse Check podcast, particularly at the 1:40 mark.

Senator Cassidy also focused on health care topics in 2017 when he partnered with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to propose Medicaid block grants. As of now, Senator Cassidy’s white paper does not mention Medicaid block grants or per capita caps. The white paper does make several suggestions pertaining to Medicaid, however, including:

• Allowing Medicaid beneficiaries to have the same Health Savings Accounts as individuals with private, high-deductible health plans.
• Combining Medicaid expansion and high risk insurance pools together.
• Asking the Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission to “conduct a comprehensive study to identify barriers to delivery system reform and make recommendations to Congress.”
• Doing “more” so patients on Medicaid receive mental health and substance abuse treatment.
• Removing the Medicaid Institutes for Mental Diseases exclusion and “granting states greater flexibility to connect patients with mental health and substance abuse services they need.”

ANCOR will monitor these proposals as they evolve and will report back to our members should these proposals develop traction and carry any implications for I/DD services.