Legislation result of bipartisan effort led by Isakson to provide better care at lower cost for seniors

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., joined a bipartisan group of senators in reintroducing S.870, legislation to strengthen and improve health outcomes for seniors enrolled in Medicare who are living with chronic conditions.

The Creating High-quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2023, was introduced by Isakson, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee’s Chronic Care working group, along with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., who co-chairs the working group with Isakson.

“Medicare shouldn’t just be a program that pays the bills when you get sick,” said Isakson, a member of the two Senate committees with oversight of health care policy. “It should also encourage your doctors to work with you to keep you healthy and out of the hospital by providing high quality, patient-centered care. I’m proud to once again introduce this legislation that will help promote better-coordinated care for seniors with multiple chronic health conditions while also empowering doctors and patients to work together to improve the overall health.”

A summary of the CHRONIC Care Act of 2023 can be found here.

Background:

Announced at a May 2015 Finance Committee hearing on chronic care, the bipartisan Chronic Care working group was formed to explore cost-effective solutions to improve health outcomes for Medicare patients living with one or more chronic conditions. Isakson, a leading voice on issues relating to improved care for those with long-term health conditions, was selected along with Warner to lead the working group.

The working group produced a policy options paper in December 2015 and called for stakeholder input into the groups’ ideas. The working group received 327 submissions from interested stakeholders across the country who provided thoughtful ideas on ways the Medicare program can better deliver health care to beneficiaries with multiple chronic illness. Those submissions were considered by working group members to craft a discussion draft released in October of this year.

A previous version of this bill was introduced in December 2016. Later that month, two important provisions of the legislation that improve risk adjustment and access to the successful Medicare Advantage program for Medicare-eligible individuals with end-stage renal disease were included in 21st Century Curesbill. The Creating High-quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act of 2023, introduced today remains largely unchanged from the previous version, notwithstanding minor technical and date changes.