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DGR Telephone:
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Follow APA Advocacy on Twitter!
The APA Department of Government Relations is now on Twitter! Now you can find out about APA Advocacy activities, Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor votes in real time.
Please click on the following link to start following APA Advocacy Twitter:
http://twitter.com/apa_
advocacy
Questions about the Twitter page or how to set up an account? Please contact Kate McAllister at advocacy@psych.org. |
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Senate and House Sends Bill to Narrow Scope of FTC Rule to President for Signature
Last week, the Senate and House approved legislation to narrow the scope of the Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Rule, which is opposed by the APA and organized medicine. The rule requires "creditors" to have identity theft prevention programs in place by year's end. The rule has been controversial due to its definition of creditor, which includes organizations that regularly defer payments for goods or services or that extend, renew, or continue credit, which could include health care providers. The APA and AMA are involved in ongoing litigation on this matter. To view AMA's Sign on letter go to the link below:
http://www.psych.org/Departments/DGR/AM2009/DGRatthe2009APA
AnnualMeeting/CAPPBookOnline/FederalRegulatoryIssues/AMASignon
LettertoFTCreRedFlagsRule.aspx |
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12 Month SGR Fix Passes House
On December 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4994, the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, providing a 12-month extension of Medicare physician payment rates and blocking a drastic 25% cut from taking effect on January 1. The legislation also extends the 5% "bump" for psychiatric CPTs for 2011. This is a major victory for APA members, other physicians, and particularly for the AMA and medical specialties including APA that have lobbied all year for a 13-month breather so a permanent solution to the SGR can be found. That task is daunting, since the 10-year cost of any permanent fix now tops $300 billion.The fix will be paid for by recouping a greater proportion of overpayments that in some circumstances may be made to consumers who are deemed eligible for subsidies to purchase coverage in the health insurance exchanges that will be established by the Affordable Care Act. |
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Federal Funding FY '11 Status
The Senate cleared a FY '11 continuing resolution by unanimous consent late on December 2. The measure would keep the government operating until December 18. The current continuing appropriations measure (PL 111-242) is due to expire December 10. The House passed its version of the new stopgap spending resolution November 30. This is a "clean" continuing resolution, meaning that it makes no policy adjustments for changes in funding levels from the one currently in effect. The extra time will allow House and Senate lawmakers to work out a way forward on funding the government for the remainder of fiscal 2011. The House is expected to move forward as early as this week on a long-term continuing resolution, while Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) has worked on assembling an omnibus appropriations measure. The level of spending for any long-term package remains in question. The use of a continuing resolution is not unusual; Congress seldom completes work on all regular appropriations bills before the start of the government's fiscal year on October 1. When continuing resolutions cannot be agreed to, the result is a government shutdown. |
Representative Patrick Kennedy Celebration
The APA co-hosted a Congressional-retirement celebration on December 2 for Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). Representative Kennedy was praised by Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Retired House Speaker Dick Gephardt, and Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) as well as Tom Insel, Director of NIMH and Nora Volkow of NIDA. Representative Kennedy plans to vigorously continue his work on behalf of mental and addictive disorders in the private sector. |
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Fiscal Commission's Future Impact
Although President Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission was short of the 14 votes it needed to send its deficit-reduction package to Congress, its work is still likely to have a major impact as lawmakers try to reduce a tide of red ink. The plan takes aim at programs favored by lawmakers across the ideological spectrum to reach the commission's goal of reducing deficits by almost $3.9 trillion over a decade. One notable recommendation was to reform Medicare payments for Graduate Medical Education, saving $6 billion in 2015, $60 billion through 2020. The Commission recommended limiting hospitals' direct GME payments to 120 percent of the national average salary paid to residents in 2010 and updated annually thereafter by tying it to the CPI and by reducing the indirect GME (IME) adjustment from 5.5 percent to 2.2 percent, which the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has estimated would more accurately reflect indirect costs. The White House also said it will review the Commission's recommendations for possible inclusion in President Obama's budget proposal in February. |
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Senator Kohl Places Hold on DEA Nominee over Nursing Home Prescribing Barriers
Citing the DEA's controversial rules putting in place barriers for prescribing Schedule II medications in nursing homes, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) last week blocked the nomination of Michelle Leonhart as DEA Administrator. The 2009 rules require a physician to transmit a written prescription directly, and impede the administration of pain-killers and psychiatric medication by not permitting a nurse intermediary to interact with the pharmacy under physician supervision. APA and other national medical organizations have urged DEA not to let the fight against illegal diversion cause unnecessary harm to patients.
To view a hearing on this topic from the Senate Special Committee on Aging meeting in March, click here:
http://aging.senate.gov/hearing_detail.cfm?id=323367&
To view APA's letter to Senator Kohl, click here:
http://www.psych.org/MainMenu/AdvocacyGovernmentRelations/
GovernmentRelations/RegulatoryComments/APA-Comments-on-
DEA-Rx-12-8-10.aspx?FT=.pdf |
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Federal Judge Invalidates Key Health Reform Provision
On Monday, December 13, Virginia federal district court Judge Henry Hudson ruled that the insurance coverage mandate in the Accountable Care Act was unconstitutional. Judge Hudson, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, is the first to rule directly on the constitutionality of the law. In issuing his ruling, the judge found that he could find "no reported decisions from any federal appellate courts extending the Commerce Clause or General Welfare Clause to encompass regulation of a person's decision not to purchase a product, not withstanding its effect on interstate commerce or role in a global regulatory scheme." Judge Hudson declined a request from the plaintiff (Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli) to halt implementation of the law. Though this and other decisions in the myriad lawsuits brought against the health reform law will undoubtedly be left to the Supreme Court to decide, the Hudson decision clearly complicates implementation of the law and emboldens its critics. |
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112th Congress Taking Shape
GOP and Democratic caucuses selected key committee chairs and ranking members for the 112th Congress. Notably, two moderate Michigan Republicans were selected by their colleagues to hold the gavels in Ways & Means (Dave Camp) and Energy & Commerce (Fred Upton) committees. Joe Pitts (R-VA) will helm the E & C Health Subcommittee.Selection of Representative Sandy Levin (D-MI) as the ranking (senior) W & M Democrat completes the Michigan trifecta.Representative Joe Pitts will take the helm of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. Georgia Republican Tom Price, M.D. will be one of the many new members of the W & M Committee next year. APAPAC hosted a reception for Dr. Price at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta; he will be a key voice on health care and has been the lead sponsor of legislation to repeal the Medicare SGR. DGR staff has long-standing good working relationship with all of these key shapers of health policy in the 112th Congress. |
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