Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Backers of the House health care transparency bill are targeting a floor vote next week and working to build support for the legislation, sources say.
Why it matters: While a vote isn't certain, passage would set an important marker for negotiations over PBMs, hospital pricing, community health center funding and other issues in January.
Flashback: This bill was initially set to come to the floor in September, but was pulled from the schedule at the last minute. That was when the chamber was in chaos over funding the government, and before then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
- Since then, Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers in particular has pushed for reviving the bill and has touted it publicly.
Between the lines: GOP leadership and committee chairs have spoken with members of the Freedom Caucus about their concerns as they prepare for a potential vote, the sources say.
- Those concerns center on process rather than substance: Freedom Caucus members object to the bill being brought up under suspension of the rules, an expedited process usually reserved for noncontroversial legislation.
- Democrats remain split on the bill, but with some Democratic support expected it is not clear that GOP leaders would need Freedom Caucus votes.
- Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee, has been in talks about the bill, but is not on board yet. As we reported in September, Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone supports the bill while Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal opposes it.
The big picture: While the situation remains fluid, House passage of the package could strengthen the chamber's hand heading into negotiations over health care attachments to a government funding deal in January.
- The House transparency bill includes a modest move towards site-neutral payment reforms, applying the concept to physician-administered drugs. The Senate has been farther behind on site-neutral proposals, though Finance Committee leaders expressed some openness last month.
- The House bill also includes more modest funding increases for community health centers than the ambitious boosts proposed in the Senate by Bernie Sanders and Roger Marshall.
- The House package also contains provisions to codify Trump-era price transparency rules for hospitals and insurers, as well as new reporting requirements for PBMs.
What we're watching: It remains to be seen whether the bill has the support of two-thirds of the chamber that's required for legislation on the suspension calendar to get across the finish line.
