|
 |
 |
|
OVERNIGHT HEALTH: IPAB repeal, Step 1
House Republicans take the first stab at repealing the health law's cost-cutting board Wednesday with a markup in the Energy and Commerce health subcomittee. The bipartisan bill - it has 17 Democratic co-sponsors - is expected to sail through, with even ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) planning to vote in favor, according to CQ HealthBeat.
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan opened up Tuesday's hearing on Medicare's solvency with an attack on the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB (Healthwatch has more on that here). And Ways and Means health Chairman Wally Herger (R-Calif.) announced he's holding a hearing on the IPAB next Tuesday.
"One of Congress' most important responsibilities is to oversee the Medicare program and protect its beneficiaries," Herger said in announcing the hearing. "When Democrats created this panel, they chose to empower unelected bureaucrats at the expense of patients and their doctors. IPAB robs Medicare beneficiaries of their voice and stifles their Constitutionally-mandated representation. Our seniors and those with disabilities deserve more than nameless political appointees who will deny care if they decide it costs too much. This hearing will allow the Subcommittee to fully understand the impact this ill-conceived rationing board will have on Medicare beneficiaries and their health care providers."
Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) defended the board in his regular press conference but said there is disagreement among Democrats about whether it serves a "positive purpose.""The IPAB has obviously been focused on by the Republicans," Hoyer said. "The irony is they are trying to scare people that the IPAB will take away some of their benefits. Obviously there are protections, as you know, in the Affordable Care Act on that issue. But the interesting thing is that the people who are trying to raise the specter of the IPAB are the very ones who are promoting programs to take away benefits from Medicare recipients. So I think it is a somewhat schizophrenic approach on this issue by my Republicans friends."
Still, he said, the House would have done things differently than the Senate, which created the board.
"I think the House would have worked on the IPAB had we had that opportunity, but, you know, we didn't have that opportunity because we couldn't do that in the reconciliation process," he said. "So I think that … it is fair to say that there is a desire by Democrats to look at the IPAB, but I think it is also obvious that there is some division as to whether or not the IPAB serves a positive purpose in trying to contain costs in health care.
He said Democrats haven't whipped on the bill.
"We have not given any direction as to what people ought to do, even on the committee or on the floor at this point in time. We will see what they mark up and see what they do. I tend to be sympathetic with the President's view that the IPAB is an important provision which does seek to contain costs, which, of course, is one of the objectives of the Affordable Care Act."
Remember this? The birth-control debate isn’t going away, and Republicans are working hard this week to recapture the political upper hand.
Ever since Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) convened an all-male panel of witnesses to testify against the contraception mandate, Democrats and their allies have been able to frame the debate around women’s health and the specific issue of access to birth control.
The GOP is trying to refocus the issue around religion — and is enlisting the help of female critics in an effort to overcome the optics of Issa’s hearing. Three women will testify about the policy Tuesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, and the conservative Heritage Foundation convened an all-female panel of critics Monday to make the case that the White House policy tramples on the First Amendment.
Healthwatch has more on the effort to bring the debate back to Republicans’ terms.
All in the timing: The GOP is on the ropes right now over the contraception issue, but its pushback comes at a key time. The Senate is likely to vote this week on Sen. Roy Blunt’s (R-Mo.) amendment to let employers opt out of healthcare mandates they find immoral, which Democrats have blasted as a major step backward for women. Blunt says the proposal would simply codify the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.
Not for kids: Several groups representing pediatricians weighed in against Blunts's amendment on Monday, saying it could jeopardize access to vaccines and other important services.
"This amendment would undermine efforts to promote pediatric preventive health and would jeopardize the health of infants, children, adolescents and young adults by denying them access to these clinically appropriate services and treatments," the groups said.
The opponents include the Academic Pediatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Pediatric Society.
Ask Sebelius: Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee all but ignored the contraception mandate when they had a chance to ask Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about it two weeks ago. We’ll find out Tuesday whether House Republicans plan to take the same approach. The Ways and Means Committee is holding its hearing on the HHS budget request, giving lawmakers a chance to press the secretary on a range of issues. The Energy and Commerce Committee holds its budget hearing later in the week.
Essential questions: Also on Tuesday, Sebelius will help explain HHS’s surprising approach to defining “essential health benefits” — the coverage every plan will have to offer beginning in 2014. She’s speaking at a forum on essential benefits hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Also on the agenda are Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Mike Leavitt, a former Utah governor who served as HHS secretary under former President George W. Bush.
Tuesday's agenda
Medicare Chief Actuary Rick Foster testifies before the House Budget Committee on "Strengthening Health and Retirement Security." Social Security Administration Chief Actuary Stephen Goss also testifies.
Yvette Roubideaux, director of the Indian Health Service, testifies about her agency's proposed budget for FY 2013 before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. Deputy director Randy Grinnell will also testify. The agency is seeking a record $5.5 billion under the president's proposed budget, after adding in spending for contract health services and new construction.
At the National Press Club, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will announce more than $8.5 million in funding to safety net health centers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The announcement is part of a forum on coordinating care for the chronically ill in patient-centered medical homes titled "Creating New Opportunities: PCMH and Care Coordination in Safety Net Health Centers."
State by state
California is getting the cold shoulder from HHS on its request to have Medicaid beneficiaries contribute to their federally subsidized healthcare.
North Carolina's Medicaid pregnancy medical homes is showing promise.
Oregon is running out of time to create a health insurance exchange before this year's legislative session ends Wednesday.
Bill tracker
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation calling for "the development and dissemination of best practices to ensure that visually-impaired and blind individuals in the United States have safe, consistent, reliable, and independent access to the information in prescription drug labeling." The bill would create an HHS working group to consider labeling options including braille, "talking bottles" and "enhanced visual means" (H.R. 4087).
Lobbying registrations
Twenty-First Century Group / National Association of Chain Drug Stores (Issues related to pharmacy benefit managers)
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz / Dean's Nursing Policy Coalition (Nursing Education Policy)
Gustafson Associates / Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
Hogan Lovells US / Hyperbaric Therapy USA
Purple Advocacy / DaVita Inc. (provider of dialysis care and other ancillary services)
JM Environmental Health Consulting / Learning Disabilities Association of America (environmental health)
Revolving door
Sharon Cunninghis has been appointed leader of human resource consulting firm's Mercer U.S. Health and Benefits business. She is an actuary and senior partner at the firm.
Reading list
The free-market National Center for Policy Analysis rips a recent Health Affairs piece that concluded Massachusetts's healthcare reform initiative — the model for President Obama's national overhaul — "continued to fare well in 2010."
Many states are taking a wait-and-see approach to health insurance exchanges, The New York Times reports.
A lead supporter of legislation requiring physicians to perform ultrasounds on women seeking abortions runs a company that makes ultrasound equipment, the Times Daily reports.
What you might have missed on Healthwatch
Week ahead: House panel to repeal healthcare law’s cost-control board
Poll: Swing-state voters sour on Obama's healthcare reform law
Durbin shrugs off poll showing health law hurting Obama
Food industry rejects proposed food tax in Obama budget
Texas Dem hammers Gov. Perry's new anti-abortion Medicaid funding rule
Comments / complaints / suggestions? Please let us know:
Julian Pecquet: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 202-628-8527
Sam Baker: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 202-628-8351
Follow us on Twitter @hillhealthwatch
