HB 8293, titled the "Abolish the CMMI Act," would eliminate the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), a federal entity within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that tests new payment and delivery models for Medicare and Medicaid. The bill states plainly that the CMMI is abolished and includes a conforming amendment repealing Section 1115A of the Social Security Act, which is the statutory basis for the center.
In practical terms, the measure would remove the federal government’s primary innovation hub for experimenting with alternative health care payment models, care coordination approaches, and cost-saving demonstrations in Medicare and Medicaid. Because the bill repeals the underlying Social Security Act provision, it would not just defund or limit the center; it would erase the legal authority for CMMI’s existence and operations.
Impact
The bill would directly amend federal law by repealing Section 1115A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315a) and abolishing CMMI. This would affect Medicare and Medicaid policy development, including demonstration projects and alternative payment models that have been used to test reforms affecting providers, beneficiaries, insurers, and state-federal program administration. The bill would likely reduce federal authority to pilot new health care delivery and reimbursement strategies.
Sentiment
There is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal sentiment can be measured from proceedings. Based on the bill text and title alone, the measure appears strongly deregulatory and skeptical of federal health care innovation efforts, while opponents would likely view it as eliminating a major tool for testing reforms in Medicare and Medicaid. The absence of transcripts or votes means the political reception cannot be determined from the supplied record.
Contention
The central point of contention is the role of CMMI itself: supporters of abolition would likely argue that the center has too much discretion, can impose unpopular payment experiments, or exceeds its intended mission, while opponents would argue that it is an important mechanism for improving quality and reducing costs in federal health programs. Another likely dispute is whether repealing the statutory authority would hinder innovation in Medicare and Medicaid and limit future reforms affecting providers, beneficiaries, and state health systems.