“The final rule could come out at any time, and I only hope that the agency completely scraps the approach taken in the proposed rule. We still have a chance to realize the promise of ACOs but that window of opportunity is closing — and CMS shouldn’t be the one to slam that window shut.”
Also in Wednesday’s healthcare section, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) announced that she plans to introduce legislation next week that would expand comprehensive sex ed in elementary and secondary schools and universities “to ensure federal funds are spent on effective, age-appropriate, medically accurate programs.” The legislations is part of Democrats’ push back against a wave of anti-abortion efforts in Congress and the states.
And GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) urged reforms to the tax treatment of insurance, including a “reasonable cap” on tax-free health benefits provided through employers. The resulting increase in tax revenues, she writes, “should be used to apply a similar tax break for people who buy private coverage.”