Washington Highlights: May 30, 2008
Contents
Prior Issues
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Federal Court Rules in Favor of Hospitals on Medicaid
Moratorium
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia May 23 ruled
that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) violated
a congressionally imposed, one-year moratorium by attempting to
issue the Medicaid IGT rule in final form on May 25, 2007, the same
day President Bush signed the moratorium into law. Judge James Robertson
ordered the rule vacated and remanded to CMS. In his decision, Judge
Robertson noted, "[i]n this case, the Court is asked to decide
whether a maneuver by the Executive Branch deliberately designed
to outfox a clear directive of Congress was successful. The answer
is no."
The AAMC, the National Association of Public Hospitals, and the
American Hospital Association March 11 initiated the lawsuit, Alameda
County Medical Center v. The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt [see
Washington Highlights, March 14]. The legal complaint
filed by the associations asserted that: (1) CMS overstepped its
authority by dictating to states the governmental status of entities
within their jurisdiction; (2) the agency was barred by Congress
from imposing a cost limit on Medicaid payments to government providers;
and (3) CMS improperly issued a final rule on the very day that
a Congressional moratorium blocking the rule took effect.
In a press
release, the hospital community applauded the Court's ruling,
but strongly urges Congress to complete its work on broadly supported
legislation to extend the current Medicaid moratorium. The regulation,
which would cut $5 billion in funding to safety net hospitals, must
now be re-issued by CMS.
Information:
Ivy Baer, Director & Regulatory Counsel
AAMC Health Care Affairs
ibaer@aamc.orc
(202) 828-0490
NIH Expands CTSA Consortium
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) May 29 announced
that 14 research institutions in 11 states will be added to the
NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium.
Total funding for these new awards is $533 million over 5 years.
The intent of the awards, which establish cooperative agreements
between NIH and the funded institutions, is to create support structures,
systems and shared resources that provide “homes” for
patient-oriented and population based researchers, and for new investigators
and trainees.
The new members include: Albert Einstein College of Medicine of
Yeshiva University; Boston University; Harvard University; Indiana
University School of Medicine; Northwestern University; The Ohio
State University; The Scripps Research Institute; Stanford University;
Tufts University; The University of Alabama at Birmingham; University
of Colorado Denver; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; and
The University of Utah.
These 14 academic health centers join 24 others announced in 2006
and 2007. This was the largest number of awards made in a single
round, although NIH noted last September that funding for the program
remains quite tight, and the agency implemented a revised funding
policy [see
Washington Highlights, Sept. 21, 2007]. The AAMC, through
its Group on Research Advancement and Development and the Advisory
Panel on Research, is working with NIH and National Center for Research
Resources to promote more efficient use of national research "cores,"
or shared resources, within the CTSA program. The CTSA program replaces
the General Clinical Research Centers awards, which will phase out
over the next several years.
Information:
Irena Tartokovsky, Senior Science Policy Analyst
AAMC Biomedical and Health Sciences Research
itartakovsky@aamc.org
(202) 862-6134
Stephen Heinig, Lead Science Policy Analyst
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sheinig@aamc.org
(202) 828-0488
NHGRI Director Resigns
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., founding director of the National
Human Genome Research Institute, May 28 announced
his resignation, effective Aug. 1, 2008. Dr. Collins joined the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) in April 1993 to direct the
National Center for Human Genome Research, which became an NIH Institute
in June 1997. In his resignation statement, Dr. Collins said he
plans to explore writing projects and other professional opportunities.
Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., the current deputy director of NHGRI,
will be appointed acting director of NHGRI on Aug. 1.
On the Hill…
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) May 20 announced
his decision to retire from the House of Representatives at the
end of the current term (Jan. 3, 2009). Rep. Fossella has served
for 5 terms and currently sits on the House Committee on Energy
and Commerce.
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