After a fairly quiet Congressional recess, the Senate is expected to address pending cuts to physicians that treat Medicare patients when they return this week.  Before Congress left town, the House voted to postpone the 21 percent payment cut for 19 months.  However, other health care benefits, such as an extension of COBRA, which helps unemployed individuals retain their former employer’s health insurance, and enhanced federal payments to states for Medicaid were removed from the bill prior to House passage.  Conservative Democrats voiced concern over the provisions because they added billions of dollars to the deficit.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of $60 million in Affordable Care Act grants to states and communities to help individuals and their caregivers better understand and navigate their health and long-term care options.  The Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will work collaboratively towards an  integrated approach that focuses on the unique needs of seniors, disabled Americans and their caregivers as they seek health care and long-term care.  Funds will be available to states, area agencies on aging, State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers.

The Congressional recess did spark debate within the blogosphere over a New York Times article that critiqued the Obama Administration’s use of data from the Dartmouth Atlas Project, an influential research body that has demonstrated geographic variations in the amount of care that hospitals and doctors provide.  The article suggested that the research was only a map of the quality of care provided across the country and could not be used to justify wasteful spending or inefficient care in the health care system as a whole.  Jonathan Skinner and Elliot Fisher, leaders of the Dartmouth Project disputed the Times article stating that it had misrepresented the facts. 

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Congress to Consider Extenders Legislation This Week

This week, the House and Senate are expected to consider and vote on the “American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act” (H.R. 4213). House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sandy Levin and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus released the tax extenders legislation last week, which includes several health care provisions, including a six-month extension of the temporary increase in Federal Medicaid Matching Rate and extension of COBRA premium subsidy for individuals terminated on or before December 31, 2010. The bill would also provide an update to physicians for the remainder of 2010 and 2011. Payment rates would increase in 2012 and 2013 if spending growth is within reasonable limits. The bill provides an extra allowance for primary and preventive care in 2012 and 2013.

IRS Issues Guidance on Therapeutic Discovery Project Program

The Administration continues to rollout health reform regulations. Last week, the Internal Revenue Service released guidance on the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program that was established in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The health reform law authorized a two-year tax credit designed to encourage investments in new therapies to prevent, diagnose, and treat chronic diseases. Firms with 250 employees or less could receive up to 50 percent of the cost of biomedical research up to a maximum credit of $5 million. Applications for the credit are due on July 21, 2010. The IRS will make determinations of eligibility for credits no later than October 29, 2010.

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility Reconvenes

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility will convene for its second meeting, this time on the Hill, on Wednesday. The meeting will be webcast at www.whitehouse.gov/live. The Commission has issued a request for comments and ideas to address the country’s fiscal challenges. Comments can be emailed to commission@fc.eop.gov and will be part of the public record.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) has requested public and member comments on its plan to establish a Partnership for Applying Measures to Improve Quality.  If the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) assigns NQF with the responsibility to convene multi-stakeholder groups to provide input to the Secretary on the selection of new quality measures as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, NQF will proceed with establishing the Partnership. 

NQF envisions that the Partnership would provide input regarding Hospital Compare, the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), the hospital readmissions reduction program, the payment adjustment for hospital acquired conditions, measures for demonstrations (medical homes, accountable care organizations, bundled payments), and public reporting websites.

Any stakeholder who is interested in the quality provisions of the health reform law should take the opportunity to provide NQF with comments, which are due to NQF by June 15, 2010 at 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

After months of debate and considerable political maneuvering, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590/P. L. 111-148) into law on March 23, 2010. On March 30, 2010, the President signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872/P. L. 111-152), which makes select changes to H.R. 3590.

Together, these laws are designed to expand health insurance coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured, while reining in rapidly-growing health care costs. Health care spending is the fastest growing line item in the federal budget. Health care premiums have doubled in the last decade and have been an increasing burden to employers and employees, as well as state and local governments. This memorandum details the impact of the newly-enacted health reform laws on employers.

The IRS, Department of Treasury, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services released interim final rules for group health plans and health insurance issuers relating to dependent coverage of children to age 26. 

The interim final rules are effective 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register (May 13, 2010).  Comments on the rules are due 90 days from the date of publication. 

On Friday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced that it is accepting letters of nomination for the Board of Governors of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCOR).

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outlines the qualifications to serve on the Board.  It requires that the Board members bring a range of perspectives and have scientific expertise in clinical health sciences research, including epidemiology, decisions  sciences, health economics, and statistics.   

Nominations are due on June 30, 2010.

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In his weekly address, President Obama discussed the implementation of health care reform and the benefits of the legislation to young adults, retirees, and families.

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/08/weekly-address-health-reform-starts-kick

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Health Care Reform Regulations

This week, the Health Resources and Services Administration will publish notice to establish a rulemaking committee. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires the Administration to establish a methodology and criteria for designation of medically underserved populations and primary care health professions shortage areas.  The rulemaking committee will work to reach consensus among technical experts and stakeholders on an interim final rule on the methodology and criteria.   

The interim final rules for group health plans and health insurance issuers related to dependent coverage of children to age 26 is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget. The interim final rule is expected to be one of several forthcoming rules required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.   

House Appropriations Chairman Announces Retirement

Last week, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey announced his retirement.  He served as the Chairman of the full Committee and the Labor-Health and Human Services Subcommittee. Rep. Norm Dicks of Washington is expected to serve as Chairman of the full committee. Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the second ranking Democrat on the Labor-HHS Subcommittee, or Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Chairwoman of the Agriculture Subcommittee, will likely serve as the Labor-HHS Subcommittee Chairwoman upon Chairman Obey’s retirement.  

Medicare Physician Fee Fix 

Congress has three work weeks prior to adjourning for Memorial Day recess. With the physician fee fix set to expire on May 31, the House is posed to move an extenders bill that would include an extension of the Medicare physician fee fix. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stated that the House would act within the next two weeks. If the cost of the extenders package is not offset, we expect that the Senate will not be able to move the legislation. In the midst of the financial reform debate, several Senators have been working on an extenders package, which would also prevent the drastic Medicare physician payment cuts from going into effect.

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National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility Convenes

Last week, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility convened its first meeting. The 18-member panel heard presentations from Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Reischauer and Rudolph Penner, both former directors of the OMB. The Commission is required to develop a plan by December 1 to reduce the deficit.     

Dr. Orszag highlighted the Administration’s longer-term efforts to reduce the deficit, such as working with Congress to enact pay-go legislation and enacting health care reform legislation, which will reduce the deficit by $1 trillion during the next 20 years. 

Mr. Reischauer advised the Commissioners to consider all categories of spending and any revenue options as they draft a proposal.  However, he stated that the health care reform law reduces Medicare spending significantly and that the CMS Chief Actuary has suggested that beneficiaries may have problems accessing medical services if the provider payment updates are implemented.  

The Commission will next meet on May 26 on the Hill. 

CMS Releases Guidance Documents on Medicare Part D Gap Discount Program

On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released guidance regarding the Medicare Part D coverage gap program established in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and amended in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. 

Under the Medicare Coverage Gap Discount Program, manufacturers are required to provide a $250 drug rebate in 2010 for both brand name and biologics purchased during the coverage gap. For brand-name drugs and biologics purchased during the coverage gap beginning January 1, 2011, manufacturers are required to give a 50 percent discount to beneficiaries.    

The guidance explains how CMS will account for the payments and discounts the manufacturers give to beneficiaries. The preliminary guidance also describes how Part D sponsors should determine applicable discounts for beneficiaries. 

CMS is accepting comments on the preliminary guidance through May 14 and will issue final guidance after reviewing the public comments.

Today CMS issued preliminary guidance about the Medicare coverage gap discount program that was established in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148).