In the 118th Congress UOAA is advocating for and urging legislators to pass legislation that benefits patient access to care. These include the bills below in the Senate and House in the 118th Congress.
You can make your voice heard and join these advocacy efforts too. Take action on our current advocacy priorities here. You can also learn more about each bill by visiting the website congress.gov and searching for the bill number.
Safe Step Act
Otherwise known as a “fail first” protocol, step therapy is an insurance practice which mandates that patients try and fail medications preferred by their insurer before they can utilize treatments prescribed by their doctor. While the practice can sometimes be used to contain the costs of prescription drugs, it can also have serious negative impacts on patients, including delayed access to the most effective treatments, severe side effects, and irreversible disease progression.
Step therapy protocols may ignore a patient’s unique circumstances and medical history. That means patients may have to use medications that previously failed to address their medical issue, or – due to their unique medical conditions – could have dangerous side effects.
The Safe Step Act (S.652/H.R.2630) is a balanced public policy proposal that works to reform step therapy.
HELP Copays Act
Copay Accumulator Programs are a tool used by health plans to limit their own expenses by preventing copay assistance programs from counting towards a patient’s deductible. These copay accumulator programs can be hidden in the fine print, and patients often learn they still owe thousands of dollars just when they thought they’d met their deductible.
The bipartisan HELP Copays Act (S.1375/H.R.830) can help end these harmful pricing schemes by ensuring that copay assistance is counted towards a beneficiary’s deductible and out of pocket maximum. This will help patients afford their treatments and bring much-needed cost savings to vulnerable patients.
Medical Nutrition Therapy Act
The bipartisan Medical Nutrition Therapy Act (S.3297/H.R.6407) would expand coverage of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in Medicare Part B beyond diabetes and renal disease to include:
- Prediabetes;
- Obesity;
- Hypertension;
- Dyslipidemia;
- Malnutrition;
- Eating disorders;
- Cancer;
- Gastrointestinal diseases including celiac disease;
- HIV/AIDS;
- Cardiovascular disease; and
- Any disease related to unintentional weight loss.
The MNT Act would also authorize the Secretary of Health to expand coverage to other disease states, and would allow nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists and psychologists to refer their patients for MNT.
Those with ostomies or GI diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), who are in need of nutritional assistance might benefit from this legislation, in particular those with significant absorption problems or anyone with Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS). Not all ostomates need MNT but certainly those with high output, Jejunostomies, and ileostomates for educational purposes/prevention of dehydration. Those with fistulas also present with nutritional challenges and often are on total parenteral nutrition (TPN).
Contact Us
United Ostomy Associations of America
P.O. Box 2293
Biddeford, ME 04005-2293
Call us toll-free at: 1-800-826-0826.
Our Information Line hours are Monday-Friday, 9am to 3pm EST. If you have an emergency, please dial 911 or contact your local medical professional.
Please understand that UOAA is a private, nonprofit, advocacy and informational organization. We are not a medical facility and we do not have medical or legal professionals on staff. Therefore, UOAA does not provide Medical, Mental Health, Insurance or Legal Advice. Visit UOAA Virtual Ostomy Clinic provided by The Wound Company for non-emergency, virtual ostomy support.
