WASHINGTON WIRE
November 6, 2009
Issue 221
HOUSE EXPECTED TO VOTE ON HEALTHCARE BILL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK
HOUSE LOOKS TO MID NOVEMBER FOR DOC FIX VOTE
ADVOCATES WANT DRUG DISCOUNTS PUT BACK INTO HOUSE BILL
HOUSE SUPPORTS DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL USED IN DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES
PSSV Co-Founder to Serve as Chairman at Health Care Leadership Summit
Top Story
HOUSE EXPECTED TO VOTE ON HEALTHCARE BILL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters on Friday that the House could vote on their healthcare reform bill as early as Saturday evening, but added that if leadership is unable to assure the necessary 218 votes, that the vote could be pushed back until Sunday or Monday. Negotiations over whether to add to the bill further abortion restrictions continue between anti-abortion Democrats and pro-choice Democrats.
Earlier this week, House leadership released a manager's amendment to Affordable Health Care for America Act, HR 3962. The same day, House Republicans revealed their substitute amendment to the bill, which scrapped most provisions of the Democrats' bill.
A visit to the Capitol by President Obama to rally support for HR 3962, originally scheduled for Friday, was delayed until Saturday morning. It is not expected that any House Republicans will vote for the measure, so passage is dependent on the 258-member Democrat caucus.
Health Care News
HOUSE LOOKS TO MID NOVEMBER FOR DOC FIX VOTE
The House will likely take up the "Doc Fix" bill the week of November 16. The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009 (HR 3961) would prevent pending Medicare physician fee cuts and codify PAYGO offset requirements. The Senate last month failed to bring to the floor a similar bill.
The CBO estimated that H.R. 3961 would cost $210 billion over ten years. The cost of the bill's payments to physicians, Medicare Advantage and TRICARE would be partially offset by $49 billion in Part B premiums, according to CBO.
H.R.3961 which would repeal the looming 21.2 percent Medicare payment rate reduction for physician services in 2010 and replace the formula for future cuts.
ADVOCATES WANT DRUG DISCOUNTS PUT BACK INTO HOUSE BILL
Some lawmakers are pushing House leadership to reinstate in the healthcare reform bill (H.R. 3962) a provision that would expand a pharmaceutical discount program to safety-net hospitals and other provider inpatient settings. Today, the drug discounts through the "340B" program are available only in the outpatient setting.
HR 3200 included the expansion of the discount program. But when House leadership merged the three different versions of the bill, the provision was dropped. In a press release, the Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA) said that the CBO calculated that the extension of 340B discounts to inpatient settings would save the federal government money. A stand-alone bill that extends the 340B discount to those settings has wide bipartisan support in the House, according to the release.
The inpatient expansion is included in the Senate HELP Committee's healthcare bill, but it remains to be seen if it will be included in the final Senate bill.
HOUSE SUPPORTS DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL USED IN DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES
On Thursday, November 5, the House passed a bill that would support the domestic production of a medical isotope - molybdenum-99 - often used in procedures to diagnose cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. If enacted, the bill would authorize $163 million for an Energy Department program to evaluate and support projects for domestic production of the isotope, which begins to break down after 66 hours.
Currently, the United States does not produce isotopes for medical use. Many foreign producers use reactors with highly enriched uranium, but the National Academy of Sciences this year found that there are no technical reasons that low enriched uranium could not be used in its stead; the bill authorizes the use of the low enriched uranium. Congress has taken this issue on now in part because there is a critical shortage of molybdenum-99.
PPSV in the News
PPSV Co-Founder to Serve as Chairman at Health Care Leadership Summit
Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville principal and co-founder Jim Pyles will serve as Chairman and Moderator of the World Health Care Congress Leadership Summit on HITECH and HIPAA Compliance on November 9-10 in Alexandria,VA.
Upcoming Events
Hearings
Saturday, November 7
House GOP on Health Care
News Conference/Briefing
11:45 a.m., HVC-117 Capitol Bldg.
Monday, November 9
Alexander, Collins on Health Care
Senate Republicans
News Conference/Briefing
2:30 p.m., Senate Press Gallery, S-316 Capitol Bldg.
Tuesday, November 10
H1N1 and Paid Sick Days
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions - Subcommittee on Children and Families
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.
Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville P.C. is a full service law firm specializing in health care and education law and located at 1501 M St., NW 7th Floor, Washington DC 20005
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