WASHINGTON WIRE
May 8, 2009
Issue 199
Obama Releases Complete FY 2010 Budget
Senate Finance Committee Holds Second Roundtable on Healthcare Reform
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Create National Health Care Quality Improvement Office
Sebelius has Debut Hearing as HHS Secretary
Top Story
Obama Releases Complete FY 2010 Budget
On Thursday, May 7, the White House released its FY 2010 budget proposal in its entirety, two months after releasing a preliminary summary. Like the earlier version, the full budget proposes cutting Medicare costs to help pay for healthcare reform and offers a fix to avoid steep Medicare payment cuts to physicians.
Without Congressional intervention, physicians face a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments next year. The budget documents estimate that preventing cuts and holding physician payments flat for a decade will cost $311 billion. The budget also proposes Medicare cuts that would save $288 billion over 10 years and be used to establish a healthcare reform reserve fund.
The budget also proposes legislative strategies for adding to the healthcare reform fund, including lowering payments for hospitals that exceed a set limit on readmissions and implementing an acute and post acute care bundling payment policy that covers the 30 days after discharge. These and other legislative strategies were also part of the delivery reform policy options released by the Senate Finance Committee last month.
As the final Congressional budget was passed on April 29, it is likely President Obama will push any unaddressed policies during the appropriations process and during the healthcare reform debate.
Health Care News
Senate Finance Committee Holds Second Roundtable on Healthcare Reform
On Tuesday, May 5, the Senate Finance Committee hosted a roundtable on coverage and healthcare reform. The discussion is the second in a series that the Committee is holding as part of its efforts to draft legislation on reform. At the end of April, the Committee held a roundtable on delivery system reform, and the third and final roundtable is schedule for May 12 on financing.
After each discussion, the Committee members meet in private and release specific policy options under consideration. The policy options proposal for delivery system reform was released on April 29, and the coverage policy options document is expected early the week of May 11.
At the coverage discussion Tuesday, it was apparent that there is still disagreement on whether healthcare reform will include a public insurance option in an insurance exchange, an individual requirement to have health insurance or a federal oversight board to help steer the process. However, panelists and members were in agreement that the private individual insurance market needs to be reformed. AHIP's Karen Ignagni repeatedly voiced AHIP's willingness to accept federal regulation.
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Create National Health Care Quality Improvement Office
Senators John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced "The National Health Care Quality Act" on Tuesday, March 5. The bill would create a National Health Care Quality Office within the White House and would re-establish the Quality Interagency Coordinating Council within the Office of National Health Care Quality Improvement.
The National Health Care Quality Act also expands the authority of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to streamline the implementation of quality improvement measures within federal health programs under the jurisdiction of HHS.
Sebelius has Debut Hearing as HHS Secretary
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had her debut hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee May 5. Committee members asked Sebelius a range of questions on healthcare reform, including questions on a public insurance option. Sebelius defended the idea, saying that a public plan could compete fairly with private insurance plans, and that many states currently offer public plans alongside private plans. Sebelius will submit written answers to the committee members' questions.
Upcoming Events
Hearings
Tuesday, May 12
Health Care Overhaul
Senate Finance Committee
10 a.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.
Wednesday, May 13
Fiscal 2010 Appropriations: Labor, HHS, Education
Senate Appropriations - Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
9:45 a.m., 138 Dirksen Bldg.
Thursday, May 14
Primary and Specialty Health Care
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.
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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