In December, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a demonstration program that will test new ways for Medicare to pay hospitals that perform heart or hip surgeries, but more recently, CMS has withdrawn that rule and cancelled the project. As part of the demonstration announcement, CMS also announced the creation of an ombudsman to serve people with Medicare in this model and other similar programs—a move applauded by Medicare Rights.

This week, the Kaiser Family foundation released a study that examines the size and composition of physician networks in Medicare Advantage plans. A plan’s network is often a major consideration for people with Medicare when choosing between Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare.

Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN) recently reintroduced the bipartisan Beneficiary Enrollment Notice and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (S. 1909)—an act strongly supported by Medicare Rights. The BENES Act simplifies Part B enrollment periods and requires the federal government to provide advance notification to people approaching Medicare eligibility about enrollment rules and how Medicare works with other coverage.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC), along with co-sponsors Dean Heller (R-NV) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), released a revised version of legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this week, often referred to as the Graham-Cassidy bill. The Senators claimed that the bill includes no “draconian cuts.” In substance, however, the Graham-Cassidy bill retains many of the components of recent failed attempts to undo the ACA.

Members of Congress are returning to Washington, DC as the summer recess winds down, putting health care policy issues back in the spotlight. Policy experts expect the fall to be busy with significant activity expected in Congress and in the administration.

This week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis that found that ending payments to insurance companies to assist low-income Marketplace enrollees with health insurance costs would increase the deficit by $194 billion over 10 years. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the federal government reimburses insurance companies for discounts on copays and deductibles the law requires insurers to give to low-income individuals.

This week, a report for the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) examines the enrollment of likely eligible Medicare beneficiaries in Medicaid programs that assist with Medicare Part B premiums and cost-sharing, known as the Medicaid Savings Programs (MSPs). Using the most recently available data (2009 and 2010), the analysis shows that participation in the MSPs remains low.

This week, the House Budget Committee approved a 2018 budget resolution that would end Medicare’s guarantee of health coverage by converting the program to a premium support system. It would cut Medicare spending by $487 billion, largely by shifting more health care costs to beneficiaries. This is in contrast to President Trump’s budget, which spares Medicare from cuts.

Today, Stacy Sanders, federal policy director of the Medicare Rights Center, testified in support of a proposed law that would increase the civil monetary penalties and criminal fines for certain types of Medicare fraud at a hearing held by the Subcommittee on Health of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The hearing focused on a number of bipartisan bills to improve Medicare, including the Medicare Civil and Criminal Penalties Update Act of 2017 (H.R. 3245).

The Trustees find that the Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A) Trust Fund is solvent through 2029—a year longer than previously predicted—and that in 2016 the Trust Fund had a $5.4 billion surplus, with surpluses anticipated through 2022. Further, the Supplemental Medical Insurance (Part B and Part D) Trust Fund remains on firm financial footing, and last year’s warning that 2017 growth would trigger the creation of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) did not come to fruition.