Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my colleagues, this is the 20th bill in a row we have brought to the floor so far, with a few more to go today. This bill is sponsored by Representatives Clarke, Blackburn, and myself, and it requires States to report on the behavioral health quality measures in CMS' core set of adult health measures. Now, these measures were created as part of the CHIPRA legislation back in 2009. States have had almost a decade to understand the measures and to report them. So now it is time to make sure that information gets reported so Congress can have a complete view on behavioral healthcare in Medicaid. You see, these behavioral health measures focus on important issues, such as initiation and adherence to medication and treatment, smoking cessation, screening, and follow-up after hospitalizations. This legislation is certainly in alignment with our recent efforts to expand mandatory reporting of quality measures. As a reminder, in the recent Children's Health Insurance Program 10-year--record 10-year-- extension, States are now required to report on the pediatric core measures. Now, this legislation before us will provide some parity in requiring the reporting of important behavioral health measures as well. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.”