WASHINGTON WIRE
September 19, 2008
Issue 181
STARK INTRODUCES HEALTH IT BILL
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE CONTINUES TO WRESTLE WITH PAYMENT REFORM
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY VOTE EXPECTED NEXT WEEK
CONGRESS PASSES ADA AMENDMENTS ACT
HEARINGS
Top Story
STARK INTRODUCES HEALTH IT BILL
On Monday, Sept. 15, House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-CA) introduced his version of a health information technology bill. Earlier this year, the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced an alternative bill, the Pro(TECH)T Act (H.R. 6357). It is expected that Congress will adjourn before lawmakers' mark up either bill.
Stark's Health-e Information Technology Act of 2008 (H.R. 6898) combines incentives for providers to adopt health IT with payment cuts for doctors that fail to adopt the systems. The incentives would be greater for those providers that adopt the IT systems earlier, adding up to $41,000 total for those providers that participate from the start. The bill also includes assistance for providers serving at risk populations.
H.R. 6898 also boosts privacy protections by requiring patients authorize any disclosure of identifiable health information, banning the sale of identifiable health information, increasing civil monetary penalities for violations and requiring patients be notified within two months if any breaches involve their unencrypted health information.
Health Care News
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE CONTINUES TO WRESTLE WITH PAYMENT REFORM
At the second of three Senate Finance health reform hearings this month, Committee Chair Max Baucus (MT) emphasized the primary care "medical home" concept and bundling Part A and B physician payments, according to press reports.
It was acknowledged in the hearing that it is a good possibility that specialty practices would take a payment cut to help finance increased payments to primary care doctors. Mark Miller, executive director for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) confirmed his support of that strategy when testifying at the hearing.
Committee leaders were in agreement that it would be necessary for Medicare to continue to take the lead in reforming payment systems to reward improved quality and efficiency. Miller reiterated a MedPAC recommendation that CMS create a pilot program to test the new system on patients with chronic conditions.
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY VOTE EXPECTED NEXT WEEK
Current expectations are that the House and Senate compromise agreement on parity legislation will be brought to the House floor late on Monday, Sept. 22. "The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008," is expected to be placed on the House suspensions calendar, which forbids amendments and requires a two-thirds vote for passage if requested.
Offsets in the bill likely include: restricting growth of physician-owned hospitals and delaying implementation of new rules companies use to allocate interest in calculating foreign tax deductions.
The parity language is expected to be included in the Senate tax extender bill. But not all of that bill's provisions are paid for, and there is resistance to passing a bill that waives the current "pay-go" rules.
CONGRESS PASSES ADA AMENDMENTS ACT
On Wednesday, Sept 17, the House approved the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a bill meant in part to address several Supreme Court rulings in the past decade that have narrowed the application of the original ADA. The vote followed the Senate passage by unanimous consent last week. President Bush is expected to sign the bill.
Supporters of the bill, including original ADA sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), said that the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the intent of the ADA.
The Supreme Court ruled that certain individuals were ineligible for protection under the ADA because medical treatments - such as prostheses- improved their conditions. But Harkin and others argue that the rulings punished individuals with disabilities for seeking medical treatments that helped them become more self sufficient. On the floor of the Senate Thursday, Harkin said that this was a fundamental flaw in the Supreme Court interpretations, and that the current legislation "rejects" those interpretations.
The bill would also expand the number of conditions that qualify as disabilities and authorize the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the attorney general, and the secretary of Transportation to issue new ADA regulations.
Upcoming Events
HEARINGS
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Covering the Uninsured
Senate Finance Committee
10 a.m., 215 Dirksen Bldg.
Problems in the Private Health Insurance Market
House Ways and Means - Subcommittee on Health
10 a.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Wednesday, Sept. 24
End-of-Life Choices
Senate Special Aging Committee
10:30 p.m., 562 Dirksen Bldg.
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