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APA Comments to Senate Committees on Psychiatric Medication Issues
This week, APA CEO and Medical Director James Scully, M.D. wrote to the Senate Special Committee on Aging on the human and taxpayers' costs of antipsychotics in nursing homes. Additionally, Dr. Scully wrote to a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on trends in medication use among children and adolescents in the foster care system. Both statements can be found on the APA website at the following locations:
Senate Special Committee on Aging: Here
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs- Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security: Here
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House Republicans Prepare Year End Legislation Addressing SGR, Payroll Tax, Unemployment Benefits
This week, House Republicans unveiled a package of year-end legislation including a two year fix to the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). As you know, physicians will see a nearly 30% reduction in Medicare reimbursement if Congress does not take action to fix the SGR before the end of the year. The two year SGR fix costs nearly $38b and would be paid for with reductions to the Prevention and Public Health Fund, PPACA subsidy cuts, and means testing higher income Medicare beneficiaries among other payfors. Prospects for the GOP plan are in question as the Democrat controlled Senate, which has yet to produce legislation on the SGR, has reacted negatively to Republicans' proposed cuts and policy riders. DGR will keep you up to date on important SGR developments through Action Alerts and future issues of RushNotes.
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Veterans' Access to Mental Health Services
On November 30th and December 2nd, the Senate and House Veterans Committees held respective hearings on wait times and access to appropriate mental health and substance use services in the VA system. The APA submitted a statement for the record. (You can view the full statement here) While the VA has made incredible efforts to expand its mental health workforce, gaps still remain. The APA encourages the VA to broaden its loan forgiveness program for physicians, including psychiatrists, and partner with CMS to train and recruit psychiatrists to rural areas to improve access to care.
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"Bath Salts" Update, H.R. 1254
The House approved H.R. 1254 on December 8th by roll call vote, 317-98 (Roll no. 904). The bill still requires action in the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to add numerous items as schedule I controlled substances. A report conducted by the FDA in December 2010 revealed that the active ingredients in many brands of bath salts contain synthetic stimulant drugs. The Senate's companion bill, S 605, is on the list of bills to be voted on by the full Senate. The timeline is unclear.
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