[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E354-E355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MEDICAID SERVICES INVESTMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 25, 2019

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1839, the Medicaid 
Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019. I'm very

[[Page E355]]

pleased the House is considering this bipartisan, bicameral legislation 
to extend and authorize important Medicaid programs that serve 
medically complex children, seniors, and people with disabilities, 
mental health and substance use disorders.
  I'm especially proud that H.R. 1839 includes the ACE Kids Act. ACE 
Kids is the product of years of extensive work by my colleagues, former 
Congressman Joe Barton and Congresswoman Kathy Castor. This bill will 
improve care for the sickest children enrolled in Medicaid, which is 
the backbone of our health care system for these children. Children 
with complex medical conditions require a large amount of health 
services which are expensive and difficult for families to coordinate. 
The ACE Kids Act aims to better coordinate this care while reducing 
overall Medicaid spending. Each state's program will be specifically 
tailored to fit each child's needs and will provide families with a 
care coordinator. It is based on existing programs that save money 
while decreasing hospital visits and improving care. This legislation 
has broad bipartisan support and was passed by the House last December 
by a vote of 400 to 11. I urge all Members of the House to support it.
  This bill also extends spousal impoverishment protections for 
recipients of home and community based services in Medicaid. These 
important protections ensure that spouses of Medicaid patients do not 
have to spend down their own assets for the Medicaid beneficiary to 
qualify for home and community based long term care services. Home and 
community based long term care services are critical to meeting the 
care and treatment needs of Medicaid beneficiaries, but spouses should 
not have to risk impoverishment for their loves ones to access these 
important services.
  H.R. 1839 authorizes additional funding for the Money Follows the 
Person demonstration which has been successful in transitioning 
Medicaid beneficiaries out of institutions into community settings. The 
bill also extends the Excellence in Mental Health demonstration for two 
states to provide mental health services in community settings. 
Evidence shows that keeping patients in their communities and out of 
institutions improves outcomes, and I'm pleased to support extensions 
of these critical programs to ensure that patients can access services 
in the best setting for their needs.
  The bill offsets these important extensions by closing loopholes that 
drug companies have exploited to misclassify their drugs and receive 
inappropriate rebates on their products. It also makes changes to 
third-party liability in child support, and denies federal funding for 
penis pumps in Medicaid.
  I'm grateful that this bipartisan, bicameral legislation is being 
considered today to strengthen the Medicaid program for children with 
complex medical conditions, seniors, and people with disabilities, 
mental health and substance use disorders and I'm very proud to support 
it.

                          ____________________