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OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Health budgets back in spotlight
For all the political uproar over healthcare reform, abortion and other hot-button issues, the health policy spotlight is shifting back to the humdrum business of running the federal bureaucracy.
One month into the 2012 fiscal year, Congress has so far failed to pass a single one of the 12 annual spending bills. Some measure of progress is on the horizon, though, with House and Senate negotiators hoping to have a package of spending bills — including funding for the Food and Drug Administration — ready when the House returns from next week's recess. The Hill has more on that effort here.
No such luck with health appropriations, though. The top Democrat on that panel tore into Chairman Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) on Thursday, pointing out that continued inaction would mark the first time in a decade that the Labor/Health subcommittee fails to report a bill. Healthwatch reported in September that Rehberg did not have the votes to pass his "draft bill" over Democrats' objection because two conservative Republicans on the panel think the bill spends too much.
"Without a markup, this bill is not an acceptable substitute for public debate and amendment," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said on the House floor. "This kind of action represents a clear violation of the majority's pledge to follow the regular order or the regular process."
Prodding Congress: Some agencies appear to be looking for new strategies around congressional gridlock. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday released a new report touting a banner year for new medicines — a clear signal to lawmakers that they should renew the industry user fees that made it possible.
"The tremendous value of these advances — and FDA's review and approval of them — underscores the importance of expedient approval of a clean Prescription Drug User Fee Act," the drug lobby said in response to the report. Healthwatch has more.
Hospitals worried: Children's hospitals are worried that legislation reauthorizing $330 million a year in funding for pediatric residency training has stalled in the Senate. The CEOs of major children's hospitals are expected to send senators a letter shortly asking them to get a move on, as the program expired Sept. 30.
Targeting Romney: Democrats creamed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney over his support for so-called "personhood" amendments in several states after he sought an endorsement from abortion-rights supporters in the past. Critics say the efforts to give fertilized embryos human status could make many forms of contraception illegal.
"We're seeing support for this dangerous approach from top leaders in the Republican Party, including Republican [presidential] front-runner Mitt Romney," Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said in a call with reporters.
Here's the audio link. The DNC also released a Web video slamming Romney as " 'Absolutely' Wrong for Women."
States take the lead: Attorneys arguing against President Obama's healthcare law say the case is nothing short of a referendum on unchecked federal power that has "reinvigorated" the states to challenge Washington's overreach. Michael Rivkin, who represents the 26 states suing over the law's individual mandate, told a Heritage Foundation crowd that the healthcare issue will spark a broader protest in the courts over federal regulation, just as it has done with conservative voters. Healthwatch's Sam Baker has more.
On the other end of the spectrum, consumer advocate and law Professor Tim Jost on Thursday urged the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to take a "leadership role" in pressing states to address potential gaps in the healthcare law's applicability. The law's consumer protections don't apply to all types of plans, and Jost said those gaps pose problems for both consumers and insurers.
Self-insured plans are exempt from most of the law's regulations, and policies offered by large employers also don't have to meet certain requirements. Jost said small businesses are shifting toward self-insurance, so employees will be stuck without benefits Congress intended to provide. There's also a risk to insurers, he said, because small businesses could drop their self-insured policies and move into the exchanges as soon as one of their workers gets sick.
Lawsuit redux: The Center for Medicare Advocacy on Thursday filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of seven Medicare beneficiaries who had to bear the brunt of their hospitalization costs because they were classified as "outpatient." The group also has a suit challenging the use of the "Improvement Standard" that Medicare uses to deny or terminate coverage to beneficiaries whose conditions are judged not to be improving. Read the Healthwatch story.
Make 'em pay: Nearly one-third of Americans believe overweight and obese individuals should be penalized for their unhealthful habits through higher premiums, according to a new Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll. More than half say smokers also should pay more for their health insurance.
Friday's Agenda
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners gets an update on health insurance and managed care during Day 4 of its fall national meeting. Here's the agenda.
Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) will unveil a bipartisan letter opposing the taxation of employer-sponsored health benefits. The two lawmakers have collected more than 150 signatures on a letter to the deficit-cutting supercommittee urging its members not to cap or phase out the exemption for employer-sponsored health coverage.
State by State
The trade group for California's hospitals sued state and federal officials to block the 10 percent Medicaid cut.
New Mexico is beefing up its oversight of health insurance rates thanks to the federal healthcare reform law.
Florida lawmakers have introduced legislation capping how much medical offices can charge when dispensing medication prescribed by an on-site physician.
Bill Tracker
Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation allowing states to opt out of the federal healthcare law's Medicaid expansion (H.R. 3326).
Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) dropped a bill to establish a pilot program supporting primary care medical homes for Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles and other Medicare beneficiaries (H.R. 3315).
Rep. James Renacci (R-Ohio) introduced legislation that would give certain suppliers of Medicare advanced diagnostic imaging services a six-month grace period to receive accreditation (H.R. 3328).
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to support the reduction of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and promote healthy relationships (S. 1782 / H.R. 3324).
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation allowing HHS to award grants to promote increased access to healthy foods in low-income communities (H.R. 3291).
Fraud Fight
The HHS Office of Inspector General added 66-year-old Enrique Gonzalez to its list of Most Wanted Fugitives. The former director of two Florida-based medical clinics is accused of defrauding Medicare of $26 million by billing for infusion therapy for HIV patients that was not provided or was not necessary.
The owner of a Rhode Island ambulance company was sentenced to two years in federal prison for defrauding Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of $700,000 by providing Specialty Care ambulance transportation that wasn't medically necessary.
Twelve New Yorkers — including three medical doctors, a doctor of osteopathy and a chiropractor — were charged in three separate healthcare fraud schemes that allegedly resulted in the submission of more than $95 million in false claims to the Medicare program.
Lobbying Registrations
Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates / Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Reading List
The panels of experts that recommend coverage guidelines struggle with conflicts of interest, The New York Times reports.
What you might have missed on Healthwatch
Fight over drug discount coupons' real cost flares up as patents expire
Report sparks fight over health law taxes
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Sam Baker: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 202-628-8351
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