Healthcare Leadership Council President Mary Grealy believes patients and the nation's entire health care system would benefit from spending measures and tax extenders developed by members of Congress.
Grealy was particularly enthusiastic about a proposed two-year delay on taxes for medical devices put in place as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a one-year suspension on the act's health insurance excise tax.
“These steps continue to bolster optimism that Congress can make positive, productive changes to the ACA, just as it did with the earlier PACE Act to make health insurance more affordable for small employers,” Grealy said.
Grealy pointed to cybersecurity as a major issue in health care.
"Health care information systems are a critical component in our nation’s response to major crises," she said. "We need to protect these systems without placing onerous regulatory burdens on health care providers or making them vulnerable to legal jeopardy."
Grealy also lauded a proposed funding increase of $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health and a $15 million funding cut for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
“Of course, the preferable action would be outright repeal of IPAB,” Grealy said. “Patients would be harmed by an unelected, unaccountable board of political appointees making arbitrary cuts in Medicare expenditures without regard to program value."
