Tag: Finance Committee

Daines, King Launch Bipartisan Bill to Protect Seniors

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines (Mont.) and Angus King (Maine) today renewed efforts to protect Medicare benefits by re-introducing the bipartisan Medicare Advantage Quality Payment Relief Act. The bill would reverse an unintended policy of the Affordable Care Act that is currently denying millions of seniors and people with disabilities the full measure of their Medicare Advantage benefits. “There are currently 16,000 Montanans being shortchanged the full scope of their Medicare benefits because of Obamacare,” Daines said. “My bipartisan legislation will ensure that seniors and people with disabilities receive the Medicare Advantage benefits they deserve.” “Medicare Advantage is a tried and true program that gives Maine seniors and people with disabilities high-quality, patient-centered

Daines Fights for Increased Transparency, Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Montanans

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today in a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing grilled Pharmacy Benefit Manager executives (PBMs) on the need to increase transparency and lower prescription drug costs for Montanans. PBMs, which serve as the middle men between insurance companies and patients, are responsible for negotiating drug costs for patients. Daines slammed their current practices as failing Montanans. Click HERE to download Currently, there is a bill moving through the Montana legislature shedding light on PBMs pricing practices. Several of the PBM executives on the panel today oppose the bill. Daines pressed the executives, “Why are you fighting

Daines Continues Fight Against Montana Meth Crisis, Demands Answers for Abuse Scandal in IHS

  U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today in a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing pressed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar for solutions on combatting Montana’s growing meth epidemic. Daines also demanded answers on recent cases of abuse in the Indian Health Service (IHS). In the hearing, Daines discussed his recent trip to Rimrock Facility in Billings, where he saw firsthand Montana’s growing meth epidemic and the impact it has on Montana moms and families. Click HERE to download.  “In Montana, we’re facing a meth crisis, and it’s devastating our families and communities… How is HHS

Daines to Lighthizer: Montana Farmers and Ranchers Need Access to New Markets

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today in a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing urged United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer to advance and finalize trade agreements with Japan and China to put Montana farmers and ranchers on a level playing field in the global stage.   Click HERE to download “We’re now behind in Japan, because our other allies have signed agreements…and they are going to receive the benefits of the tariff reductions. My malt barley folks were in talking to me yesterday, and they literally showed me the contracts they’ve lost in Japan,” Daines said. Yesterday, Daines met with Montana barley

Daines Pushes to Stop Nursing Home Abuse, Protect Seniors in Montana

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today in a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing pressed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure that horrific cases of nursing home abuse in Montana, such as a recent case in Lewistown, will never happen again. Download video HERE “Last year, a state-run nursing home in Montana was cited for failing to protect patients from verbal, physical, and sexually abusive behaviors of fellow patients… according to reports, on 13 occasions, officials were not notified of incidents that included abuse in the facility’s wing which houses dementia patients,” Daines said. At the hearing, Daines