Simple Explanation of H.R. 849 - Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act

This bill, called the Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, removes a part of the Affordable Care Act (often called "Obamacare") that created something called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

What is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)?

The IPAB was set up to help control Medicare costs by making recommendations on how to reduce spending if Medicare costs were getting too high. It was designed to try and keep Medicare financially healthy without needing Congress to act every time.

What does this bill do?

This bill gets rid of the IPAB completely. It cancels the rules that created it and removes its powers, so that Medicare cost control decisions won't be handled by this board anymore. Instead, decisions will go back to how they were made before the Affordable Care Act.

Why does this matter?

Some people were concerned that the IPAB could make automatic Medicare spending cuts that might affect healthcare services for seniors without enough oversight. By repealing the IPAB, this bill aims to protect seniors’ access to Medicare services and ensure that any changes are made through regular legislative processes.

The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on November 2, 2017.

This bill, known as the "Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017", aims to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence from experiencing emotional and psychological trauma due to violence or threats of violence against their pets. It includes provisions such as extending protections to pets in cases of interstate stalking, violation of protection orders, and restitution for veterinary services related to care for the victim's pet. The bill also establishes an Emergency and Transitional Pet Shelter and Housing Assistance Grant Program to provide support for victims and their pets. Additionally, the bill outlines grant conditions, definitions of terms used, and a sense of Congress encouraging states to include pet protections in domestic violence protection orders.

Bill Explanation: H.R. 1038

This bill aims to change a part of the Social Security Act (specifically, title XVIII) related to Medicare. It focuses on prescription drug plan sponsors and MA-PD organizations that operate under the Medicare program. These organizations would be prohibited from reducing the payment on a clean claim submitted by a pharmacy in a retroactive manner.

The bill was introduced by Mr. GRIFFITH, with support from several other representatives, and referred to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for consideration.

Overall, this bill seeks to improve transparency and accuracy in Medicare Part D spending by preventing prescription drug plan sponsors and MA-PD organizations from reducing payment on clean claims submitted by pharmacies retroactively.

The specific details of the amendment, which will be added to Section 1860D–12(b)(4)(A) of the Social Security Act, are provided in the text of the bill.