AATB Applauds House Appropriations Committee Report Language Supporting Patient Access to Skin Substitute Therapies

Tuesday night, the House Appropriations Committee voted 34-28 to advance the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, as amended, to the full House of Representatives. 

The amended bill contains report language strongly encouraging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to evaluate the impact of recent Medicare payment policy changes for skin substitute products on patient access, cost, and health outcomes. AATB and its members asked Congress to support similar language during our February Fly-In and March Call to Action, and the Committee adopted language consistent with many of AATB’s recommendations.  

AATB appreciates the Committee’s recognition of the need to preserve patient access to clinically appropriate skin-substitute therapies while addressing concerns about program integrity. The report language acknowledges the importance of monitoring the effects of CMS’s Calendar Year 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payment changes and directs the agency to provide Congress with an update on the rule's impact. 

Specifically, the Committee report states:
“Skin Substitutes.—The Committee supports efforts to address serious fraud regarding Medicare’s coverage of and payment for skin substitute products. In implementing changes to the payment of skin substitutes in the Calendar Year 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2025), the Committee strongly encourages CMS to address the impact on Medicare patient access, cost, and health outcomes. The Committee directs CMS to provide an update in the fiscal year 2028 congressional justification on the impact of the rule on preserving patient access while ensuring program integrity.”

AATB will continue working with Congress and CMS to ensure Medicare payment policies support access to safe and effective tissue-based therapies. The inclusion of this language represents an important step toward ensuring that future policy decisions are informed by their real-world impact on patients and providers.