TAPP Responds to Senate Finance Committee Request for Information “Health Coverage That Works for Everyone”
The Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity today responded to a Request for Information from Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden and Senate Finance Democrats to solicit ideas on potential reforms of the health insurance system.
In part, TAPP wrote:
“There is substantial room for bipartisan agreement on healthcare. Republicans and Democrats may disagree about the appropriate size and role of government, but lawmakers across the ideological spectrum should be able to agree that patients deserve a healthcare marketplace that is transparent, competitive, accountable, and responsive to their needs.
TAPP therefore encourages the Committee to pursue reforms that:
Reduce unnecessary prior authorization requirements and improve claims-denial and appeals processes;
Require meaningful transparency from insurers, PBMs, TPAs, and other healthcare middlemen;
Delink PBM compensation from drug prices and rebate amounts;
Prevent anticompetitive steering toward affiliated pharmacies and providers;
Give employers and plan fiduciaries meaningful access to claims, pricing, rebate, fee, and compensation information;
Increase scrutiny of transactions among vertically integrated affiliates and prevent manipulation of MLR requirements;
Protect independent physicians and pharmacies and promote genuine market competition;
Ensure negotiated prescription drug savings and patient assistance benefit patients;
Improve transparency and accountability in 340B and other federally supported healthcare programs; and
Reject government price-setting and other policies that could diminish patient choice or weaken incentives for American medical innovation.”