On July 7, the OCGA team hosted Senator Warnock staffers at EUHM and the new Winship Tower. Several of the staffers previously toured the Winship Tower during construction last year, so they were excited to see the final product. Staffers met with Emory team members during their tour and learned more about the current needs at Emory Healthcare.

The House Appropriations Committee has released its version of the FY2024 Labor-HHS-Education bill that was marked up in subcommittee on July 14. Appropriators approved a $147 billion spending package, which includes an overall cut of 28% ($63.8 billion), flat funding for Pell Grants, elimination of Federal Work Study funding and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity grants, and possible cuts for the Hospital Preparedness Program. Meanwhile, the Senate is hoping to pass its spending bills in accordance with the debt agreement, leaving the House with the choice of higher spending levels or a government shutdown. While the OGCA team continues to advocate for federal funding bills that encompass the full fiscal year (as opposed to short-term continuing resolutions), we are concerned about the rising likelihood of a government shutdown on October 1. 

340b Drug Pricing Program 

With the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ recent proposal to repay the 340b cuts from previous years, Emory Healthcare is projected to recoup approximately $75 million in federal funds later this year. However, because the regulation must be budget neutral, there is a proposal to cut .5% to future non-drug items and service payments for non-340b hospitals over approximately 16 years. In response to the rule, the OGCA team is advocating for the lump sum repayment for our 340b hospitals while also pushing back against the .5% cut. 

On Capitol Hill, concerns about the 340b program and its growth continue. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation that would be difficult to implement. The OGCA team is working to halt any problematic legislation in the Senate. We expect that any final package will have new transparency requirements for hospitals and limitations on contract pharmacies. There have been inquiries to, and discussions with, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) focused on limiting any negative impact on Emory.  

Site Neutral 

Three House committees are exploring site neutral legislation, which would eliminate different pay levels for inpatient and outpatient locations. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a committee markup earlier this spring, and Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers offered and withdrew a full site-neutral policy as an amendment. The House Education and Workforce Committee has marked up their own site neutral legislation that would require off campus locations to have a separate identifier for all services. We are also expecting the House Ways and Means Committee to markup legislation before the August recess.  

The Senate site neutral legislation is complementary to the House. It also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to treat outpatient departments as subparts of the parent organization, to issue these subparts unique provider identifiers, and remove liability for services rendered for payers that are not billed in accordance with this section’s requirements. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a $100B primary care proposal that will be paid for in part by proposed site neutral cuts. We are still reviewing the details of this proposal and how it dovetails with the bipartisan SITE Act. The proposal is set to be marked up in the HELP Committee next week. The OCGA team has been touring legislators through our hospital outpatient departments and outlining the benefits these services provide our patients.  

Preparing for All Hazards and Pathogens Reauthorization Act Update (PAHPA) 

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee marked up legislation to reauthorize PAHPA on July 13. The legislation was voted out of committee by a party line vote, 17-13. Now the bill moves to the full committee. 

The Senate is also marking up PAHPA legislation. Emory is closely tracking several provisions including funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program and other issues that allow us to protect the safety of our patients and staff. The OCGA team is closely monitoring these markups.

The House Study Committee on Certificate of Need Modernization, chaired by Representative Butch Parrish, held its inaugural meeting on July 13 at the Georgia State Capitol. After a welcome and introduction by Speaker Jon Burns, the committee members heard testimony from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Georgia Department of Community Health, the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), and the Institute for Justice. The presenters covered an overview of CON laws, legislative reform efforts occurring across the country, and the legal and administrative framework. GHA highlighted the CON working group that Emory participated in earlier this summer and promised to submit the community’s finalized recommendations at a later date. The next study committee meeting will take place in Augusta on August 1. The State Affairs team will continue to attend all meetings.

July 31 will be Brandon Gardner’s last day with Emory. He has served as our Associate Director of Community Engagement. Among his duties, he led our work related to Emory OPEN. Please join us in wishing Brandon well as he pursues his next professional chapter.