
(RightIsRight.co) – Sending shockwaves through the healthcare system, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2024.
This bipartisan legislation seeks to tear down bureaucratic barriers that have prevented cancer patients and seniors from accessing life-saving medications.
The Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act (HR 5526) seeks to amend the outdated Stark Law, also known as the Physician Self-Referral Law.
While well-intentioned, this Reagan-era legislation has become a roadblock for patients in need of critical medications.
The new bill allows oncology practices to deliver medications by mail to Medicare beneficiaries, which was briefly allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic but has since been banned.
Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger introduced the legislation, declaring, “It’s time we modernize Medicare and remove obstacles for patients who need critical medications.”
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has been fighting against the policy change that forced patients to be physically present at medical offices to receive their medications.
This change was implemented by unelected bureaucrats at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and has been a source of immense frustration for patients and healthcare providers alike.
The Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act is a direct response to the challenges faced by patients, especially those in rural areas who struggle with transportation or are too ill to travel.
The legislation received strong bipartisan support from co-sponsors including Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chuck Fleischmann, Donald Davis, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Tony Balderson.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where the companion bill S 3458 awaits action to fight longstanding healthcare inequities and protect the most vulnerable from outdated bureaucratic barriers.
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