House unanimously passes Rep Ruiz’s Medicaid reform bill

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz to make reforms to Medicaid.

According to Ruiz, H.R. 1839, or the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act, seeks to help children with complex medical needs, people with mental health issues, and senior citizens get access to the care they need.

The House’s vote comes less than a week until some of the programs and protections the bill supports expire. This includes things like “spousal impoverishment” protections for families where one spouse requires expensive home or community-based care. The “Money Follows the Person” program that helps people who are going from institution-based care, such as nursing homes, back into their community and home. Another program affected would be the Excellence in Mental Health Act demonstration program which plays a role in helping rural patients access mental health care

The cutoff date for these programs is March 31.

One of the major reforms the bill seeks to make to Medicaid is to hold drug companies accountable for deceptive practices. This would include adding provisions to crack down on drug companies not paying proper rebates on their drugs while ensuring patients who depend on these drugs still have access to them.

” This is a bill that puts patients first, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law soon, ” Ruiz said.

The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), and Rep. Van Taylor (R-TX).

H.R. 1839 will now head to the Senate for further consideration.