WASHINGTON WIRE
October 26, 2007
Issue 150
House Approves Revised SCHIP Bill, Falls Short of Veto-Proof Majority
Senate Approves Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill
Legislation Would Increase Price Transparency for Implantable Medical Devices
Top Story
House Approves Revised SCHIP Bill, Falls Short of Veto-Proof Majority
In early October, the President vetoed an SCHIP reauthorization bill that would have invested an additional $35 billion in the program over five years. Although the Senate had approved the SCHIP bill with a two-thirds majority, House leaders failed to garner such support to override the veto last week.
Then on Thursday, the House approved a revised State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization bill, but fell several votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override an expected Presidential veto.
After tweaking the original legislation to address some of the Republicans' concerns such as potential movement from employer-sponsored coverage, SCHIP coverage of illegal immigrants, and focusing enrollment on the lowest income children, the House approved the measure by a vote of 265 to 142. The revised SCHIP bill maintained the original $35 billion additional investment over five years, potentially providing healthcare coverage for 10 million children.
It remains unclear if the House will take up another stand-alone SCHIP bill or if the Senate will schedule a vote on the revised SCHIP package. Some speculate that Congressional leadership may attach SCHIP reauthorization to other end-of-the-year priority legislation. The President indicated this week that he may be willing to negotiation to some extent on a SCHIP bill. The Administration originally requested a reauthorization bill that invests an additional $5 billion in the program over five years.
Health Care News
Senate Approves Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill
On Tuesday, the Senate approved HR 3043, the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (L/HHS) spending bill. The bill would fund the Departments at $149.9 billion in FY 2008 and the President has threatened a veto because spending levels exceed his proposed FY 2008 discretionary cap by nearly $9 billion.
The L/HHS bill, considered one of the most controversial spending bills, was passed by the House in July. The House bill would provide $151.7 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal year FY 2008. This is $7.1 billion above the FY 2007 level and $10.8 billion more than the President's request.
The Senate bill would increase funding for many health-related agencies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive an increase of $1.3 billion for a total of $29.9 billion in FY 2008. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive an increase of $224 million for a total spending level of $6.4 billion. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration would receive $3.4 billion, a $78 million increase from last fiscal year.
With numerous other priorities occupying Congress' time, not one of the 12 annual spending bills have reached the President's desk, and, in fact only six have been passed by both the full House and Senate. House and Senate leaders must now negotiate a final L/HHS spending bill and it remains unclear whether the President will follow through on his veto threat.
Legislation Would Increase Price Transparency for Implantable Medical Devices
On Wednesday, Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Specter (R-PA) introduced S. 2221, legislation to provide for the reporting of sales price data for implantable medical devices.
The legislation would require that device manufacturers report quarterly to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary on the average prices charged for their implantable medical devices used in medical procedures - both inpatient and outpatient. Manufacturers would be subject to civil monetary penalties from $10,000 to $100,000 for failure to report or for misrepresentation of price data. The HHS Secretary would be required to make the data available to the public via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website.
The influential Senators stated that the legislation will help hospitals negotiate fair prices for implantable devices such as pacemakers, stents, and artificial hips and knees. Currently, the Senators claim, hospitals have no way of knowing what a fair market price for a medical device is, because pricing information is not available. As a result, one hospital often ends up paying much more than another hospital for the same device.
The Senators state that enactment of this legislation would help reduce Medicare spending and improve overall quality and efficiency of the health care system.
Upcoming Events
Hearings and Events
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
10 a.m., 430 Dirksen
Pain Care for Veterans
Public Affairs Program
American Pain Foundation
11 a.m., Reserve Officers Association, One Constitution Ave., N.E.
Non-Profit Hospital Issues
Senate Finance Committee
2 p.m., 215 Dirksen
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Restrictions on International Reproductive Health Funds
House Foreign Affairs Committee
10 a.m., 2172 Rayburn
Mental Health Care in the Gulf Coast
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs - Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery
2:30 p.m., 342 Dirksen
For More Information
For further information on any topics discussed or publications listed, or to get copies of anything mentioned in this alert, please call 202.466.6550 and ask for the Legislative Practice Group.
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