Last week, as the Senate remained in session to finish up some last-minute business before the August recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Washington Senator Patty Murray led an effort to pass a $26.1 billion state-aid package. The measure, in the form of a substitute amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, provides $16.1 billion to state governments to put towards their Medicaid expenses. It accomplishes this by extending the increases in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) for a total of six months, a provision that originated in the stimulus bill.

Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe provided crucial votes for the majority, enabling them to suspend debate and ultimately win passage on the amended bill. The Congressional Budget Office scored the bill as being deficit-neutral over the ten year window in part to a number of revenue-raising provisions including cuts in the food stamp program and international tax credits, as well as recessions to a wide variety of other programs. Although many of these cuts drew criticism, the bill is being praised by many states that are desperately in need of the Medicaid funds.

In wake of the Senate’s passage of the bill, House Democratic leadership announced that it would be calling members back into session this week in order to consider the legislation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that the House will meet in pro forma session today and again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday to “vote on the bill and send it to the president for his signature.” Although many members may be reluctant to vote for another spending measure in such proximity to the upcoming elections, the fact that both of the major provisions in the bill have already been passed through the House on two separate occasions bodes well for its chances this time around.

After the final vote on the Medicaid bill, the Senate was also able to achieve passage of Senator Blanche Lincoln’s bill to reauthorize federal children’s nutrition programs, as well as a prescription drug disposal bill. Senators are scheduled to return to Washington on September 13, and will begin consideration of competing amendments to a small business bill soon thereafter. The amendments, offered by Senators Mike Johanns and Bill Nelson, would adjust IRS vendor-purchase tax reporting requirements included in the health care overhaul law. In addition, the Johanns amendment would eliminate a preventive care trust fund and decrease the requirements for mandatory health coverage beginning in 2014.

Last week also saw the release of the annual Medicare and Social Security Trustees Report, which depicted an overly optimistic view of the future of Medicare, although the validity of that report has been questioned given that the authors were all members of the current administration.

State challenges to the health care reform law also received a boost last week as a federal court rejected the administration’s request to dismiss the Virginia lawsuit questioning the law’s constitutionality. Additionally, voters in Missouri overwhelmingly supported a measure to repeal the individual mandate created in the reform law, becoming the first state to overturn a central element of the law. This could be the first in a string of such actions taken by individual states in the coming months, as there continues to be growing anxiety over the implementation of state-based insurance exchanges.

Diane Rowland, Chair of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), announced that Lu Zawistowich was named the Commission’s Executive Director and that the first public MACPAC meeting will be convened in September. The Commission was authorized in the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization of 2009 (P.L. 111-3). Congress appropriated funding for MACPAC in the Affordable Care Act.  MACPAC will advise Congress on Medicaid, CHIP, and health insurance exchange policies. 

Dr. Zawistowich most recently served as the Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services. She previously worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as at the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 

On July 21, Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey introduced H.R. 5808 to amend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include a public plan option. The Congressional Budget Office CBO issued a letter to House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark noting that the bill would reduce the budget deficit by $53 billion over 10 years. The letter also states that the cost of insurance under a public plan option would be 5-7 percent lower on average. 

Including a public plan option in health care reform legislation was a controversial issue that did not ultimately have traction in the Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The House-passed health care reform bill included a public plan option.  The rates under the Affordable Health Care for America Act would be negotiated and could not be less than Medicare rates, but not higher than the average rates of other health benefit plans. Rep. Woolsey’s legislation would set reimbursement rates under the public plan option as equal to Medicare plus 5 percent. Although the legislation has 128 co-sponsors, the House is unlikely to move the bill during this session of Congress. 

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners convened last week to develop a recommendation to HHS regarding the definition of medical loss ratio, which would serve determine the types of insurance spending that should count as medical spending. NAIC was charged with this role in the Affordable Care Act, which requires large group health insurance plans to spend 85 percent of premium dollars on clinical services and activities related to quality of care. The NAIC hopes to present a recommendation to HHS by mid to late August; although, its work could continue into September. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius must certify the Commissioners work. NAIC has also been tasked with developing standard insurance benefits and enrollment forms and regulations for the state-based exchanges.

Capital Thinking Radio Show July 1, 2010

If you missed the Capital Thinking Radio Show with Kevin O’Neill last week, listen to the podcast on demand. 

Join us as we examine the hurdles of turning the new health care bill into a reality with advocacy leaders John Jonas and Julie Black.

Last night, the House passed the “Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010,” which will increase Medicare reimbursement to physicians by 2.2 percent through November 30, 2010. President Obama signed the legislation into law on June 25. 

Amy Hall, Director of the Office of Legislation at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice to Hill staff explaining that Medicare physician “claims containing June 2010 dates of services which have been paid at the negative update rates will be reprocessed as soon as possible.” The notification indicated that contractors have been instructed to stop processing claims with the 21 percent cut and to hold claims for services provided in June until the 2.2 percent update is loaded into the claims processing systems.      

Congress is likely to reconvene after the November elections for a lame duck session. The short-term SGR fix along with a number of Medicare extenders that were included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expire before the end of the year. In addition to addressing the Medicare physician reimbursement rate, Congress will likely extend:

• the floor on geographic adjustments to the work portion of the Medicare physician fee schedule;
• the process of allowing exceptions to limitations on medically necessary therapy;
• the policy that directly reimburses qualified rural hospitals for specified laboratory services;
• bonus Medicare payments to ambulance services provided in rural and other areas; and
• the physician fee schedule mental health add-on to increase the payment for psychiatric services.