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DGR Telephone:
703-907-7800
DGR Fax:
703-907-1083
DGR Email:
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President Obama's Jobs and Deficit Reduction Proposal
During the week of Septmber 19, President Obama formally transmitted his jobs proposal to Congress. The President proposed to cover the $450 billion price tag by including it in a $3 trillion deficit reduction package. The proposal was pronounced "DOA" by Republicans and Democrats alike. That's probably the case for the overall package, but some elements will undoubtedly be in play as the deficit reduction Supercommittee moves toward its November 23 deadline.
DGR recently posted a memo on the President's jobs and deficit reduction proposal.
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APA and Allied Physician Associations Launch SGR Push
As many of you know, physicians and their patients are headed into a season of potentially enormous ramifications from Capitol Hill. Congress has created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (known as 'the supercommittee') that is charged with reducing federal spending by at least $1.2 trillion before the end of the year, and health spending is expected to be a significant target. At the same time, Medicare provider payment rates are scheduled to be cut by almost 30% on January 1, 2012.
The APA has partnered with the American Medical Association, state affiliates, and other national medical specialty societies in a coordinated call to action this week to convince Congress to shift the focus from destructive payment cuts to reforms that will stabilize the Medicare program. Additionally, allied medicine has written to the supercommittee members and Congress at large urging them to include a full SGR repeal in their final product.
To view and participate in the SGR action alert, click here.
To view the medical specialty and state association sign-on letter, click here.
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APA Submits Comments to the FDA in Response to Proposed Rulemaking
The APA has submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) related to human subjects research protections. In general, the APA supports many of the proposed modifications to current regulations protecting human subjects who participate in research. This ANPR rule aims to reduce administrative burdens incurred by researchers by among other things harmonizing regulations affecting human subjects research, modifying informed consent forms and consent procedures, and permitting the use of one central independent review board for multi-site research. The APA's comments can be accessed at www.psych.org/hmnsubcmt. |
House Appropriations Committee Introduces Continuing Resolution
On September 21, the House Appropriations Committee introduced a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government operating past the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The legislation, H.J.Res. 79, also contains a total of $3.65 billion in disaster relief funding to provide assistance to the thousands of people affected by Hurricane Irene, recent wildfires, the devastating floods and tornados in the Midwest and South, the Mid-Atlantic earthquake, and other natural disasters.
The CR is a must-pass bill that is necessary to prevent a government shutdown and continue federal operations until all Appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2012 is enacted. Currently, the House Appropriations Committee has moved on 11 of the 12 annual Appropriations bills - with only six bills having passed the House. H.J. Res 79 continues government operations at a rate of $1.043 trillion - the total amount agreed to by the Congress and the White House in the recent debt-ceiling legislation - and runs until midnight, November 18. The CR continues government operations and services and allows time for Congress to complete the fiscal year 2012 Appropriations bills that provide annual funding for the federal government.
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| APA Comments on Metadata ONC
Through an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office of National Coordination (ONC) for Health Information Technology (HIT) solicited public comments on metadata standards to support nationwide electronic health information exchanges. The APA submitted responses to questions concerning three categories of metadata that were recommended by both the HIT Policy Committee and the HIT Standards Committee; these categories include: patient identity, patient privacy, and provenance. In its response to this proposed rule, the APA emphasized its overarching concern for maintaining patients' privacy throughout electronic transmission of health care data. To read the APA's comments on metadata standards, click on this link:http://www.psych.org/mtdtcmts92311.
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