Rural Healthcare Roundtable and the Biden-Harris Nursing Staff Ratio Mandate

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a rural health care roundtable meeting in Marshall, where I spoke with industry leaders and elected officials about the healthcare concerns facing the area.

One major issue we discussed was the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed nursing home staffing mandate, which will devastate our rural nursing homes. I have been fighting back against this mandate since the beginning, sending letters to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), introducing legislation requiring HHS to halt implementation until they can prove rural homes will not be impacted, and directly speaking to HHS Secretary Becerra in the Ways and Means Committee.

Since my last healthcare update, my Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandatory nursing staff ratio rule was marked up in the Energy and Commerce Committee. This is the next step in the process and I am so glad the committee is taking this issue seriously and making it a priority. I will continue to speak out against this misguided rule and keep working towards a real solution to the nursing staff shortage across rural Minnesota.

"Inflation Reduction Act" Policies are Hurting Seniors

We continue to realize the true scope of the damage caused by the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act" the Democrats passed last Congress. One of the changes made is destabilizing Medicare Part D, which helps cover the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has acknowledged this failure and is signaling that Medicare patients could be facing double-digit premium increases, and they have offered a solution. However, their solution is only a temporary one, and it would come at the expense of the taxpayers to the tune of more than $5 billion per year for the next three years. It could also leave seniors on fixed budgets paying more when the program expires and decrease access to the drugs they rely on.

While I am glad to see CMS is looking for a solution, I am concerned that this will be yet another misguided program that kicks the can down the road rather than addressing the issue. I joined my colleagues in a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure sharing significant concerns regarding this program and asking for more details.

The letter reads, "To be clear, we have been long-standing supporters of market-based policies that are designed to keep premiums lower in Part D for seniors on fixed budgets. During the Trump Administration, premiums saw a 12% decrease between 2017-2021 demonstrating a stable and efficient program." It goes on to say, "Your demonstration, however, takes the opposite approach and puts increased burden on hard-working taxpayers that will only cause more long-term uncertainty in this critical program and drive higher spending for years to come."

You can read the full letter here.

Improving Ambulance Access Across Western Minnesota

I visited Wabasso to meet with healthcare staffers and leaders about the importance of telemedicine services and strategies to effectively serve the health needs of our district. In rural areas, travel time to a hospital can mean the difference between life and death. It was amazing to see the tele-EMS services that Wabasso Ambulance provides in partnership with Avel eCare, giving patients direct access to care from certified physicians, paramedics, and nurses via video call from inside the ambulance.

These industry advances are absolutely critical to ensuring quality care for our rural communities. I am also committed to this effort in Washington, which is why I cosponsored the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act, which addresses gaps in access to ambulance services, especially in rural areas, by extending a temporary funding increase for Medicare payment of ground ambulance services in rural areas for another three years.

Protecting Access for Medicare Recipients

I am a proud cosponsor of the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act. This bill provides Medicare coverage of pharmacist services relating to vaccinations, testing for infectious diseases, and managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. It also provides for coverage of pharmacist services during a public health emergency. This will make it so much easier for seniors across the Seventh District to receive increased access to care through their Medicare coverage.

I am also working to keep medication prices from becoming even more expensive. Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration touted the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but House Republicans are having to clean up the mess this legislation has made, as with the case of Part D mentioned above.

Medicare Open Enrollment

Once a year, between October 15 and December 7, seniors can change their prescription drug plan or Medicare coverage. You can enroll or update by either calling 1-800-MEDICARE or visiting medicare.gov. 

Thank you for reading!

fischbach.house.gov

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