Accelerating Kid Access to Care Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4758, the Accelerating Kids' Access to Care Act, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan) and the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller- Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4758 will ensure that children enrolled in Medicaid who need specialized care from out-of-State providers can receive that care without undue delay.

Children with complex medical needs often require care that can only be provided by specialists in States other than the one in which they live, and it is unacceptable that these children may have to wait months to receive the care they need, making their condition worse and adding unnecessary stress and burden to their already overwhelmed families.

These delays stem from complicated processes that prevent out-of- State Medicaid providers from quickly enrolling in the child's home State Medicaid program. H.R. 4758 will streamline that process to ensure children can more quickly get the care that they need.

This bill also includes a prohibition on so-called spread pricing by pharmacy benefit managers in the Medicaid program. Spread pricing occurs when pharmacy benefit managers keep a portion of the amount paid to them for prescription drugs, charging Medicaid an excess amount for the drug. I will be pleased to see this wasteful spending come to an end, frankly.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan) for her leadership on this important bill.
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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I think we heard from Representative Trahan why this is so important. I urge all colleagues to vote for it on a bipartisan basis, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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