This is not an official government website.
© 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act, committees such as Committee on Ways and Means, members such as Jason Smith.
Issued
June 29, 2026
house side of the record
People
3
Linked members mentioned in this section
Legislation
1
Bills and resolutions linked from this section
Committees
1
Committees connected to this section
Senate Holds
0
No hold activity linked here
Source Document
Connected Data
People mentioned
Bills and resolutions
Committees
Source Control
Reader mode is for comprehension. The linked government PDF is the official published source.
Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5347) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure the availability of appropriate collection types for quality reporting under the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5347
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Health Care Efficiency
Through Flexibility Act”.
SEC. 2. ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATE COLLECTION TYPES
FOR QUALITY REPORTING UNDER THE MEDICARE SHARED
SAVINGS PROGRAM.
Section 1899(b)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395jjj(b)(3)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking “An ACO shall submit” and inserting the
following:
“(i) In general.—An ACO shall submit”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new clauses:
“(ii) Required availability of collection types for
certain years.—For performance years 2025 through 2029, the
Secretary shall ensure that the following collection types
(as described in section 414.1305 of title 42, Code of
Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) are
available with respect to each measure described in
subparagraph (A)(i) required to be reported by an ACO under
this paragraph:
“(I) Electronic clinical quality measures.
“(II) MIPS clinical quality measures.
“(III) Medicare Clinical Quality Measures for Accountable
Care Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared
Savings Program.
“(iii) Clarification on application of data completeness
requirements in certain cases.—
“(I) In general.—In determining whether data submitted by
an ACO with respect to a measure described in subparagraph
(A)(i) for a performance year beginning on or after January
1, 2026, satisfies the data completeness requirements
applicable to such measure under section 414.1340 of title
42, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)
(as applied pursuant to section 425.512 of title 42, Code of
Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)), the
Secretary may not find such data to be unrepresentative of
such ACO's performance for such year (as described in
paragraph (e) of such section 414.1340) based solely on the
fact that such data excludes applicable data from 1 or more
ACO participants in such ACO if—
“(aa) such data submitted by the ACO otherwise complies
with the data completeness requirements of such section
414.1340; and
“(bb) such ACO demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
Secretary that such ACO participant was unable to collect
such data through the collection type (as described in clause
(ii)) selected by the ACO for the submission of such data.
“(II) Definition.—In this clause, the term `ACO
participant' has the meaning given such term in section
425.20 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or a
successor regulation).
“(III) Implementation.—The Secretary may implement this
clause by program instruction or otherwise.”.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM FOR DIGITAL QUALITY MEASURE REPORTING.
Section 1899(b)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395jjj(b)(3)(B)), as amended by section 2, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new clause:
“(iv) Pilot program for digital quality measure
reporting.—
“(I) In general.—For each of performance years 2028
through 2032, the Secretary shall establish a digital quality
measure reporting pilot program (in this clause referred to
as the `program') under which ACOs selected under subclause
(II) for such performance year report quality measures
specified by the Secretary under subclause (III) for such
performance year through a digital quality measure (as
defined by the Secretary) collection type specified by the
Secretary.
“(II) Selection.—The Secretary shall select ACOs to
participate in the program for a performance year from ACOs
that submit an application at such time and in such form and
manner as specified by the Secretary.
“(III) Specification of quality measures.—For each
performance year of the program, the Secretary shall specify
2 measures described in subparagraph (A)(i) otherwise
required to be reported by ACOs for such performance year for
which an ACO selected under subclause (II) shall submit data
through the collection type specified in subclause (I).
“(IV) Waiver of requirement to report other measures.—The
Secretary may not require an ACO selected under subclause
(II) for a performance year to report data on any measure
described in subparagraph (A)(i) otherwise required to be
reported by an ACO under this paragraph for such performance
year, other than such a measure specified under subclause
(III) for such performance year.
“(V) Disregard of data for certain measures.—The
Secretary may not take into account any data for a measure
specified under subclause (III) for a performance year
submitted by an ACO selected under subclause (II) for such
performance year, or any data for a measure with respect to
which such ACO is not required to report data for such
performance year under subclause (IV), in determining—
“(aa) whether such ACO has met quality performance
standards established by the Secretary under subparagraph (C)
for such performance year; or
“(bb) any score for the quality performance category (as
described in section 1848(q)(2)(A)(i)) for an ACO participant
(as defined in clause (iii)(II)) in such ACO for such
performance year.
“(VI) Technical assistance.—The Secretary shall provide
such technical assistance to ACOs selected to participate in
the program as is practicable.
“(VII) Provision of information.—Not later than December
31, 2032, the Secretary shall publicly post (or include as
part of annual rulemaking for this section) the following:
“(aa) An analysis of the program.
“(bb) Any recommendations for increasing submissions of
data for measures described in subparagraph (A)(i) through
the collection type specified in subclause (I); and
“(cc) A proposed timeline for requiring such measures to
be submitted through such collection type.”.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION FUNDING.
(a) In General.—There are appropriated, out of any funds
in the Treasury not otherwise obligated, $8,000,000 for
fiscal year 2026, to remain available until expended, to the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management
Account for purposes of implementing the amendments made by
sections 2 and 3.
(b) Medicare Improvement Fund.—Section 1898(b)(1) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395iii(b)(1)) is amended by
striking “$2,062,000,000” and inserting “$2,054,000,000”.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act led by Committee on Ways and Means members, the Subcommittee on Health Chairman Vern Buchanan and Representative Jimmy Panetta.
been a strong champion for ensuring that our healthcare system is focused on the right outcomes—including improved patient health through chronic disease prevention—rather than Washington paperwork mandates.
overwhelm healthcare providers or distract them from their primary job, caring for patients.
providers who are responsible for improving patient health and reducing spending through value-based care. More than 500 such ACOs, comprising nearly 700,000 medical providers, cared for over 12 million Medicare beneficiaries just last year. In their 14-year history, ACOs have saved taxpayers $12 billion.
known as quality measures, to the Federal Government to track their performance and determine their shared savings.
The current system for reporting quality measures is labor intensive. Some ACOs use as many as 15 different electronic health record systems to track and report this data. One health system spent $5.6 million and 100,000 staff hours on reporting in a single year.
$14 billion
in national health costs and investing resources in better care.
{time} 1450
and flexibility for smaller provider practices. It also establishes a pilot program for digital reporting to determine best practices.
independent providers who are committed to lowering costs and improving patient outcomes but often lack the sophisticated software needed to comply with the digital reporting regime.
on reporting data to Washington bureaucrats when the need for patient care is so great. This bill ensures that ACOs can put quality patient care first.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5347, the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act, which was introduced by two of my good friends, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Buchanan) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).
Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense, bipartisan bill to improve care for Medicare patients while reducing burdens on healthcare providers. The bill does this by expanding quality reporting options for accountable care organizations.
doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals who work together with the aim of providing better care to patients on Medicare. They do this by coordinating their efforts and sharing information with one another rather than working separately.
improve healthcare quality and to lower costs. When an accountable care organization is able to improve care and reduce costs, they get to share in the savings generated.
reporting methods to be used in Medicare through the year 2029. It also creates a digital quality measure pilot program to ensure that any transition to digital quality measures continues to assess care quality and reduce burdens for providers.
the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations, America's Physician Groups, Epic Systems, Oracle Health, Accountable for Health, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.
time that they want to spend more time caring for their patients and less time with paperwork and medical records systems. Today's physicians are bogged down in insurance paperwork and are severely underpaid because Medicare reimbursement rates have not kept up with the rate of inflation.
loved ones in our communities, and they deserve to be supported so that they can continue to provide quality care for patients across the country.
they need to provide the best care possible for their parents. The Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act received unanimous support from the members of the House Ways and Means Committee, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill on the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Buchanan), the vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for his incredible leadership over the years.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act, which helps minimize burdens on value-based care organizations.
We must move away from fee-for-service. As someone who has been in business for a long time, the incentives are wrong. That is part of the problem. The more you do, the more you make. The sicker you are, the more you make, and I just don't like it. Not to say that doctors take advantage of it, but the incentives are wrong, and we need to fix that.
That is why I am in strong support of accountable care organizations. Americans are served better, and the focus needs to be on quality of care, not quantity. As our health system continues shifting toward value-based care, we need to do everything we can to make healthcare more supportive, especially in ACOs.
ACOs and Medicare share a portion of it in terms of the program. They save approximately $2 billion annually. My bill ensures a smooth transition to digital reporting so physicians can be more focused on their patients themselves.
I thank Mr. Panetta for his bipartisan leadership and for helping me, working together on this. I thank Leader Scalise and the whip for letting me bring this to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act.
Mr. SUOZZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5347, the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act, is a commonsense, bipartisan bill to provide more flexibility when accountable care organizations report on the care they provide to their patients.
improves these reporting requirements, thereby reducing confusion and administrative burdens for physicians who are with us at the most vulnerable times in our lives.
physician payment issues and more, I urge my colleagues to support this bill that Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Panetta have worked on together in a bipartisan fashion. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill before us today was approved with total support by Ways and Means Republicans and Democrats. The purpose of value-based care is to implement solutions to some of this Nation's most pressing health challenges, including the high cost of care.
the administrative costs associated with accountable care organizations. However, that potential does not do doctors, patients, or taxpayers any good when the rules and timeline for digital reporting of quality measures are uncertain.
organizations focused on providing better healthcare at a lower cost. That eliminates the potential distraction of complying with new digital reporting requirements that are yet to be finalized.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5347, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.