House Education and Workforce Committee holds hearing on contracting provisions, telehealth legislation

The House Education and Workforce Committee advanced several bills Sept. 11, including legislation that would empower commercial insurance companies at the expense of patients and a bill that would ban facility fees for telehealth visits. The AHA sent the committee a statement opposing these bills. "This bill includes harmful contracting provisions that would prevent doctors and hospitals from negotiating reasonable agreements with commercial health insurance plans," AHA said about the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act. "These contracting restrictions — known as tiering or steering — would allow insurers to make it more difficult for patients to choose their own doctors and hospitals by steering them to the providers the insurers own or favor. If passed, this bill would limit patients' choice and ability to seek care with their preferred providers and hospitals in their communities." 
 
AHA also opposed the Transparent Telehealth Bills Act of 2024, which would cut hospital reimbursements for telehealth services since payment — including facility fees and any additional services — would be capped for facility-based providers at non-facility rates. AHA said that reducing reimbursement for facility-based providers by establishing payment thresholds not to exceed non-facility rates would further limit the administration of virtual services for patients and communities.