Engagement
This month, Lobbyit met with Senate HELP majority staff member Romney Gripado, the Health Policy Adviser under Sen. Bill Cassidy. Romney noted that the committee has had limited discussion on short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI), and it wasn’t high on the legislative agenda list given recent regulatory action taking the lead. She mentioned that she did not expect STLDI legislation to be included in summer markups, as the committee is focused on more bipartisan bills and Chairman Cassidy’s end-of-tenure priorities. While the proposal is not considered impossible, movement is unlikely before the fall. Romney noted that the issue has not been identified as a high priority by Sen. Cruz’s office, and a renewed legislative effort would require technical assistance from the relevant agencies as well as a Congressional Budget Office score. However, Romney pointed to several pieces of legislation that were slated for markup in the coming months that may interest the NEA. One bill of interest is the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, which would codify health coverage transparency requirements, build on existing transparency initiatives, and give employers greater access to individual plan data to help design more comprehensive coverage options.