Current Legislation

As part of the advocacy and government affairs efforts of the AASM, our staff tracks legislation at the federal and state-by-state level. These bills cover a wide range of issues that are important to our members, such as telehealth coverage and policy to later school start times. For more information or questions, please email policy@aasm.org

Current Federal Legislation

HR 748: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act

Status: LAW

Summary: The CARES Act provides numerous healthcare related changes:

  • Enables hospitals to receive accelerated, advanced payments from the Medicare program.
  • Includes $100 billion for hospitals and other health care providers impacted by the current pandemic in the Public Health Emergency Fund.
  • Temporarily lifts sequestration Medicare sequestration from May 1 through December 31, 2020.
  • Act increase the hospital payment by 20 percent for patients admitted with COVID-19.
  • $200 million in telehealth grants

HR 1861: ZZZs to A’s Act

Status: Referred to House Committee on Education and Labor

Summary: This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to conduct a study that examines the relationship between school start times and adolescent health, well-being, and performance; comprehensively reviews the scientific evidence relating to that relationship; compares adolescent health, well-being, and performance among local educational agencies with different school start times; and evaluates factors that contribute to, or affect, school start times.

HR 3107: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act

Status: Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means

Summary: This bill establishes several prohibitions, requirements, and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, the bill prohibits MA plans from instituting additional prior authorization requirements for surgeries (including related items) that are furnished to a patient during other surgeries for which prior authorization was not required or was already received. Additionally, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.

State Legislation

Please see the latest tracking document here