June 5, 2019: MGMA response to Senate HELP Committee's Lower Health Care Costs Act discussion draft

June 5, 2019  

The Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee
United States Senate
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray, Ranking Member
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee
United States Senate
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Subject: Lower Health Care Costs Act

Dear Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray:

On behalf of our member medical group practices, healthcare executives, and other healthcare leaders, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) is writing to provide comments and recommendations on your discussion draft entitled the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which addresses rising healthcare costs. We appreciate your leadership on this important issue and the steps you and the Committee are taking to develop solutions that first and foremost protect patients and their access to care.

MGMA is the premier association for professionals who lead medical practices. Since 1926, through data, people, insights, and advocacy, MGMA  mpowers medical group practices to innovate and create meaningful change in healthcare. With a membership of more than 45,000 medical practice administrators, executives, and leaders, MGMA represents more than 12,500 organizations of all sizes, types, structures, and specialties that deliver almost half of the healthcare in the United States.

We appreciate that this Committee and lawmakers in both chambers are working in a bipartisan manner to develop legislation to address important issues such as unexpected medical costs, drug prices, public health, and transparency. We are pleased to provide our perspective on certain provisions of the legislative draft where we have established policy and where it impacts our members and the care they provide to patients.
 

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