Sen. Mike Crapo has been named chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees more than 50% of the federal budget, including healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
The Idaho Republican said in a Jan. 7 news release that he is optimistic "we will be able to continue our bipartisan work on issues like rural health care access, pharmacy benefit manager reform and long-term payment stability for doctors."
Mr. Crapo outlined several healthcare goals:
1. Rural healthcare: Mr. Crapo said the committee will continue its work of shoring up telehealth capabilities, expanding mental healthcare resources and preventing rural closures.
2. PBM reform: The senator said the committee will "focus on modernizing Medicare's prescription drug benefits, driving down patient costs at the pharmacy counter and netting billions in savings for taxpayers."
3. Physician payment: He said the committee must streamline clinician payment systems and encourage alternative payment models that "reward providing better care at a lower cost."
"We must improve primary care, support chronic-care benefits in Medicare and provide Medicare doctors with long-term payment stability," he added.
4. Inflation Reduction Act: Mr. Crapo said the committee will conduct "aggressive oversight" of the Inflation Reduction Act and enact policies that "mitigate the adverse consequences of this law on patients, innovators and taxpayers."