GOP-Controlled House Could Eye MA Overpayments, ‘Questionable’ Marketing

With a few midterm races unresolved as of mid-November, Democrats are projected to narrowly retain control of the Senate while Republicans will likely take back the House in the next Congress. That raises numerous questions about the future of health care policy, but D.C. insiders say House Republicans are likely to pursue achievable items rather than reach for the stars. Regardless of who controls each chamber, however, the experts suggested that more accountability and oversight is expected in Medicare Advantage.

“For once, repeal and replace isn’t the defining backbone of Republican health policy in Congress,” said Tarplin, Downs & Young Partner Jennifer Young, referring to multiple GOP efforts to scrap the Affordable Care Act, during a Nov. 4 webinar hosted by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). “It took us years, but I think we have learned that repeal and replace was not a winning issue and I think there’s been an acknowledgment that a Democratic president…isn’t likely to sign repeal and replace into law,” said Young, who served as assistant secretary for legislation at HHS and senior counselor to then-Secretary Mike Leavitt during the George W. Bush administration.