Congressman John P. Sarbanes | Wikimedia Commons
Congressman John P. Sarbanes | Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sarbanes (D-Md.) on May 17, 2023 applauded the Health Subcommittee for advancing legislation to protect access to affordable health care for millions of Americans and promote transparency and accountability across the health care system, including his bipartisan bill with Congressman John Joyce (R-Pa.) to reduce costs for the Medicare program and pass along savings to its beneficiaries.
The legislation led by Congressmen Joyce and Sarbanes (H.R. 3237) would provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with the tools it needs to ensure Medicare is billed correctly for services provided to its beneficiaries. Specifically, it would require providers to obtain and use a unique identifier for each of their provider-based facilities when billing Medicare. This will help CMS increase transparency, cut costs by preventing overbilling and enforce existing law.
In an Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee markup, Congressman Sarbanes explained how the amendment including his legislation would result in lower costs for seniors on Medicare. He also applauded the passage of other provisions to ensure continued access to care for millions of Americans and bolster the health care workforce pipeline, including by reauthorizing community health centers and expanding the National Health Service Corps.
“[This amendment] includes a critical reauthorization of – among other things – our community health centers, which serve millions of Americans in every corner of the country as well as support the provision of primary, mental and behavioral health services for children at school-based health centers and that’s an area of particular interest for me so glad to see that,” said Congressman Sarbanes.
He continued, “It also includes a critical extension and expansion of the National Health Service Corps – which in Baltimore, we’ve had some terrific examples of how that can work. That helps address the nation’s current workforce shortages while better preparing a more diverse, well-trained workforce for future public health crises.”
He concluded, “Finally, I’m also proud that this amendment includes the text of a bipartisan bill I have joined Mr. Joyce in introducing to require providers to use a unique identifier for each provider-based site when they bill the Medicare program. While this might not sound important, it will give CMS the tools it needs to ensure compliance with existing law, reducing overall costs to the Medicare program. I used to do that – in my previous life, among the things I did was help health care providers get these particular unique identifiers and you can track the dollars better that way. It’s better for Medicare, it’s better for patients, it’s better for the practitioners, so [we have a] very important remedy being addressed here.”
See below for a video of the Congressman’s full remarks.
Original source can be found here.
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