Two weeks ago Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, announced the $739 billion Inflation Reduction (IRA) Act of 2022, compromise legislation agreed upon by Senator Manchin. The bill includes just a few of the healthcare policy reform provisions House Democrats included in House legislation passed late last year, moreover extending expanded ACA marketplace insurance subsidies and allowing the Medicare program to negotiate drug prices. The IRA also includes, as has been widely reported, $369 billion in tax credits over ten years intended to accelerate the adoption of renewal energy. (Some have suggested the bill should be more appropriately titled The Temperature Reduction Act.) The legislation likely, if not in fact, represents the last chance Congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration have to pass health and healthcare related policy reforms this Congress under reconciliation rules - that expire September 30th.
During this 40 minute interview Jeremy begins by describing NACHC's mission. He goes on to discuss extending ACA insurance subsidies in context of the patients his community community health, or Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), serve, how might the Medicaid funding cliff be addressed, i.e., approximately 16 million current enrolls would lose their coverage at the end of the current public health emergency, and provides comments on extending telehealth coverage expansion, workforce shortages and the climate crisis.
Jeremy Crandall is the Director of Federal and State Policy for the National Association of Community Health Centers, where he works to address policy issues concerning Medicaid funding, 340B prescription drugs, FQHC payment and delivery reforms, behavioral and telehealth policies and primary care workforce issues. Jeremy previously spent six years working on state-based issues at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and at the Pew Charitable Trusts. For eight years prior still he worked in Maryland state politics with Attorney General Brian Frosh and State Delegate Heather Mizeur.
Information on NACHC is at: https://www.nachc.org/.
NACHC's Jeremy Crandall Discusses Inflation Reduction Act-Related Policy Reforms (August 4th)