Health industry asks government for help on cybersecurity

With help from Arthur Allen (@arthurallen202) and Darius Tahir (@dariustahir)

HEALTH INDUSTRY WANTS GOVERNMENT HELP ON CYBERSECURITY: The House Energy and Commerce Committee received nearly 300 pages of input on its request for information about ways to fortify the cybersecurity of medical devices such as MRIs and X-ray machines. Industry respondents converged on a few common themes, including their need for financial support and guidance from Washington on how to secure legacy technology.

The American Alliance of Orthopedic Executives, for instance, requested federal assistance for the upkeep and replacement of medical technology. The American Hospital Association urged FDA to clarify that medical devices are required to have certain security measures. The health care industry is “confused as to whether FDA guidance on post-market cybersecurity is binding,” the group wrote in its comments.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology supported creating a cybersecurity coordinator position within ONC.

Some groups urged CMS to adopt “Improvement Activities” under the Medicare Quality Payment Program that would reward good cyber hygiene or help providers avoid penalties if they adequately manage cybersecurity risk. Pros can read the whole story here.

WILKE GETS VET COMMITTEE NOD: The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee releaseda joint statement backing Robert Wilkie’s nomination for VA secretary, in advance of a confirmation vote expected after the July 4 recess.

Chairman Johnny Isakson said Wilke has the “expertise and the positive attitude to take on challenges that lie ahead.” Ranking Democrat Jon Tester said he planned to hold Wilke “accountable for serving our veterans” as the VA navigates “rough waters.”

“As long as he maintains good communication with Chairman Isakson and me, we’ll make sure that VA has the tools to right the ship for Montana’s and America’s veterans,” Tester said.

AMAZON SCOOPS UP PILLPACK: The retail giant appears to be deepening its inroads in health with a new acquisition: PillPack, a pharmacy that ships packaged doses to patients and coordinates refills. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018. The two companies did not disclose terms.

eHealth Tweet of the day: Atul Butte @atulbutte I wish we had a data-science on-call room… sometimes we reach a state where nothing can help empower a data scientist more than a good nap!

It’s FRIDAY at Morning eHealth. Your author is returning to her Rust Belt roots for the next few days, so keep her posted on Washington happenings while she’s away at [email protected]. Tweet tips to the rest of the team at @arthurallen202, @dariustahir, @ravindranize, @POLITICOPro, @Morning_eHealth.

SENATE APPROPRIATORS CLEAR HHS BILL: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal 2019 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill Thursday, agreeing to boost HHS’ fiscal 2019 budget and dedicate billions to fighting the opioid epidemic, our colleague Adam Cancryn reports.

The bill would set HHS’ discretionary budget at $90.1 billion, including $3.7 billion for the opioid crisis. It also would boost NIH’s spending by $2 billion over prior fiscal years.

The bipartisan agreement keeps the Senate on track to send all 12 appropriations bills to the Senate floor by the end of the month. However, House appropriators have twice delayed markup of its HHS spending bill. Pros can read the rest of Adam’s story here.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION PROPOSAL SPARKS INTEROPERABILITY DEBATE:
The CMS proposal to make data sharing a requirement of Medicare and Medicaid participation has sharpened debate over whether current government incentives are enough to get hospitals to release needed patient information.

Many provider organizations and health IT groups, including EHR vendors and industry informaticists, oppose CMS’ proposal, which would eventually require hospitals to share discharge summaries, arguing that it is duplicative of other government efforts to fulfill the mandates of the 21st Century Cures Act.

Critics of the measure say CMS and ONC should rely on other regulatory mechanisms before revising Conditions of Participation. Cures Law already makes the practice of blocking the transfer of health data illegal, said Sasha TerMaat, who chairs the EHR Association’s Executive Committee. TerMaat, a director at Epic, said the Meaningful Use program already pushes hospitals and vendors to be more interoperable. It’s not clear how Conditions of Participation could “materially change” information exchanges, she said.

The American Medical Informatics Association noted that ONC is working on a set of exemptions to information blocking, the practice banned under the Cures law. CMS should wait for that ruling before it comes out with its requirement for participation, the informaticists say.

Supporters, including former Obama administration health IT policymakers and leaders of accountable care organizations, argue that opposition comes from providers with vested interests in keeping their patients in-network, and that providers need more incentives to encourage data sharing.

Farzad Mostashari, former national coordinator for health information technology and founder of health data startup Aledade, argued that there’s no reason to wait for the ONC rule before revising the Conditions of Participation. CMS could say, ‘“We don’t know what information blocking [is]”’ while still demanding that when patients get discharged, hospitals be required to send the facts of their discharge back to their primary care doctor,” Mostashari said. Pros can read the rest of the story here.

THUNE, SCHATZ UNVEIL NEW 5G LEGISLATION: Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune and Sen. Brian Schatz are introducing legislation aimed at speeding along the transition to 5G wireless, POLITICO’s John Hendel reports. They’re considering a hearing in July, according to Thune.

The STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act would impose a shot clock of between 60 and 90 days for state, local and tribal governments to decide on wireless companies’ requests to install small-cell infrastructure, critical for 5G. If a government takes too long to consider an application, it would be automatically approved.

All fees municipalities charge for broadband infrastructure would have to reflect real costs. The bill would also mandate a GAO study on barriers to broadband deployment on tribal lands.

The legislation faced considerable delay in coming together. A draft version was circulated in October, but municipalities objected on the grounds that the provisions were unfair to local governments. Pros can read the rest of the story here.

WHAT WE’RE CLICKING ON:

— FastCompany reports on AI startup Babylon Health

— CNBC lays out everything to know about Amazon’s health care business