Today, the House of Representatives passed the 21^st Century Cures Act by a strong bipartisan vote of 392-26. Included in this life-saving legislation are three bills sponsored by Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins. Earlier in the day, the Congresswoman spoke on the House Floor in support of the 21^st Century Cures Act.

CLICK HERE to Watch Congresswoman Jenkins’ Remarks

Remarks As Prepared for Delivery:

I thank the Chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this legislation which should help all Americans.

This legislation improves access to healthcare for rural communities through measures I introduced such as the Continuing Access To Hospitals Act, which stops unjustified regulations from interfering with rural healthcare providers offering quality services, and the Rural ACO Provider Equity Act, which will ensure the work of PAs and Nurse Practitioners is recognized so that rural hospitals can join ACOs and afford to remain open and serve our rural communities.

And finally, it will help the 40 million Americans who deal with a mental illness each year through inclusion of my Mental Health First Aid Act.  This bipartisan legislation delivers 15 million dollars every year to train police officers, teachers, veterans’ advocates and others to identify and aid those with a mental illness, building a stronger mental health safety net in America that addresses the needs of millions of Americans.

I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation.

Thank you and I yield back the balance of my time.

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins’ 3 bills included in the 21^st Century Cures Act:

1)     H.R. 5667, Rural ACO Provider Equity Act

·         Under current law, only primary care services provided by a physician count towards an Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) savings score with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

·         This bill will allow Physician Assistants and Certified Nurse Practitioners to perform primary care services that count towards the saving score, so that rural practices can join an ACO, share in the bonus payments, and keep their lights on to serve more people.

2)     H.R. 5613, CAH Act of 2016

·         This bill requires CMS to continue to instruct Medicare contractors not to enforce requirements for direct physician supervision of outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2016.

·         You may recall, this bill became law in 2014 and 2015.

3)     H.R. 1877, Mental Health First Aid Act

·         This bill unanimously passed the House of Representatives on September 9, 2016.

·         This bill will help our local firefighters, police officers, and first responders receive training in spotting signs of mental illness so that people in need can get help.

·         As amended, it includes $15 million in funding each year through FY2022.

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