WASHINGTON WIRE
July 21, 2006
Issue 105
In this issue, you'll find:
- Stem Cell Bills Pass Senate; President Issues First Veto
- Senate Appropriators Approve Labor-HHS Spending Bill
- House Subcommittee Examines Price Transparency in Health Care System
- Senators Aim to Modify Medicare Mobility Device Benefit
- Hearings
Top Story
Stem Cell Bills Pass Senate; President Issues First Veto
On
Tuesday, July 18, 2006, the Senate passed three bills expanding stem
cell research, including H.R. 810, which would allow the use of federal
funds for research conducted with embryonic stem cells—cells taken from
donated frozen embryos obtained through in-vitro fertilization— which
narrowly passed the Senate by a vote of 63-37.
Two other bills passed unanimously. S. 2754 would give the National Institutes of Health federal funding for “pluripotent” stem-cell research. Pluripotent stem cells do not come from embryos and are able to develop into any type of tissue. S. 3502 would ban “fetus farming.” Fetus farming occurs when scientists create a fetus specifically to use the created tissue for stem-cell research.
Supporters of stem cell research stated that such practices could allow for scientific advancements including cures for cancer, Parkinson’s, and other diseases. Opponents, including President Bush, fear stem cell research creates a slippery slope in the field of science where one human life may be taken to save another. As promised, less than twenty-four hours after the bill passed, the President vetoed the legislation, the first veto issued since he took office in January 2001. President Bush stated that enactment of this legislation would allow society to cross a moral line which he was not comfortable crossing.
Later
in the day, the House unsuccessfully attempted to override the veto by
passing the legislation with a two-thirds majority. The legislation
failed by a vote of 235-193.
Health Care News
Senate Appropriators Approve Labor-HHS Spending Bill
On
Thursday, July 20, 2006, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a
$606 billion Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related
Services (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill. The legislation would
allocate $463 billion to mandatory programs (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid,
and other entitlement programs) and $143 billion to discretionary
programs, including $64 billion for Health and Human Services programs.
The Senate bill allows for $5 billion more in discretionary funding than the President’s budget request and $1.3 billion more than allocated in fiscal year (FY) 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received $6.19 billion, a slight increase over the House’s appropriations bill. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received $28.5 billion, a modest increase from last year.
The
Labor-HHS appropriations will not likely go to the Senate floor for a
vote until after the August recess and may be included as part of a
year-end all-inclusive "Omnibus" appropriations bill.
House Subcommittee Examines Price Transparency in Health Care System
On
July 18, 2007, the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee held a
hearing into initiatives to develop greater price transparency in the
health care sector and to examine the impact and benefits of price
transparency, including the potential for increased competition, lower
costs, and lower spending growth.
The Harvard business school witness suggested that provider pricing programs should be based on the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which ensures full disclosure about the "material facts" about securities.
Pricing information may be useful to health insurance companies to help them reduce the cost of their products, Ranking Committee Democrat Rep. Stark (CA) said while echoing testimony presented at the hearing. But consumers may choose lower priced care at the expense of quality, "and they don't always equal," he added. Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) countered that pricing transparency programs will be "a natural component of any modern health care system in the future."
Still, Johnson noted that recent attempts by Medicare to make prices it pays providers publicly available are of "limited value," Johnson said, because they are based on a mandated cost structure. Increasing provider pricing information in the private sector will help hold public health sectors programs more accountable for the prices they pay for health care, she added.
Making
public what providers charge, and what insurers actually pay, has
gained momentum recently, in part because the Bush administration has
said doing so will educate consumers, thus helping to slow health care
inflation.
Senators Aim to Modify Medicare Mobility Device Benefit
This
week, Senators Bingaman (D-NM) and Santorum (R-PA) introduced the S.
2677, "Medicare Independent Living Act of 2006," legislation to modify
Medicare's long-standing "in the home" restriction on mobility devices.
The Medicare statutes defines covered Durable Medical Equipment (DME) as "used in the patient's home." The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) currently interpret this language to confine coverage of mobility devices to only those devices that are necessary for beneficiaries to complete certain activities inside their homes. However, other stakeholders argue that this language was intended to define DME as devices provided outside of a hospital or skilled nursing facility and separately reimbursed under Medicare Part B; rather than to limit coverage to only in-home devices.
S. 3677 would modify the Medicare statute to allow beneficiaries with "expected long-term need" coverage for devices that might be used for community and vocational activities, as well as domestic activities. Supporters state that the bill would significantly improve independent and community living for individuals with mobility impairments and is in line with the goals of other government initiatives such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Ticket-to-Work Program, the Olmstead Supreme Court Decision, and the New Freedom Initiative.
Other original cosponsors of the legislation include Senators Murray (D-WA), Collins (R-ME), Akaka (D-HI), Jeffords (I-VT), Lieberman (D-CT), Kerry (D-MA), Harkin (D-IA), and Kennedy (D-MA).
Upcoming Events
Hearings
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Medicare Physician Payment
House Energy and Commerce - Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Health Coverage for Children
Senate Finance - Subcommittee on Health Care
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 215 Dirksen Bldg.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Prescription Drug Abuse
House Government Reform - Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Preparedness for Public Health Disaster
House Homeland Security - Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 210 Cannon Bldg.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Emergency Health Care
House Ways and Means - Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Medicare Physician Payment
House Energy and Commerce - Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn 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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