Washington Highlights: May 8, 2009
White House Unveils Detailed FY 2010 Budget Request
Contents
Prior Issues
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President Obama May 7 revealed agency and program specific details
of his FY 2010 budget.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also released a list
of terminations, reductions, and savings, highlighting the programs
that the Administration proposes to eliminate or scale back.
In February, OMB released a budget overview, laying out the Administration's
priorities and the broad outlines of the budget [see Washington
Highlights, Feb. 27].
The February documents did not include discretionary program information,
nor did they address details on several of the Administration's
mandatory and tax policies, such as the international tax and tax
compliance initiatives.
What follows is a summary of discretionary spending proposals of
interest to academic medicine.
National Institutes of Health: The President's budget calls
for an FY 2010 program level of $30.996 billion for NIH. This is
an increase of $443 million (1.5 percent) over the FY 2009 comparable
number and excludes funding provided to NIH through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L.
111-5). Of this amount, the budget requests $30.759 billion
through the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, a $442 million
(1.5 percent) increase over the FY 2009 appropriated level of $30.317
billion.
The NIH program level includes $150 million for Type I Diabetes
research, $79 million in funding transferred from the Interior appropriation
to NIH for Superfund research activities through the National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and $8 million in Public
Health Service evaluation funds transferred to the National Library
of Medicine.
Identified as strategic priorities, the President's budget plans
to invest over $6 billion for cancer research across NIH, reflecting
the first year of an 8-year strategy to double cancer research by
FY 2017. The FY 2010 request represents an increase of $268 million
(5 percent) over the estimated FY 2009 level in this area. The budget
also includes $141 million for NIH's share of a $211 million HHS-wide
initiative on autism spectrum disorders that also encompasses the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health
Resources Services Administration (HRSA) in FY 2010. For NIH, this
represents an increase of $19 million, or 16 percent above the estimated
FY 2009 level. The budget also includes a $9 million increase to
NIEHS for a new initiative to support nanotechnology safety research,
and $5 million from the Office of the Director to launch a new effort
in bioethics, which will be funded in coordination with the Institute
and Centers (ICs).
NIH estimates the budget would fund a total of 9,849 new and competing
renewal research project grants (RPGs), an increase of 7 RPGs over
the estimated FY 2009 level. For noncompeting continuation awards,
the President's Budget provides inflationary increases of 2 percent.
The average cost of competing RPGs increases by 2 percent over the
FY 2009 level. Due to the receipt of ARRA funds in FY 2009, NIH
temporarily will suspend the NIH Director's Bridge Award program
in FY 2010; the vast majority of these funds are redistributed to
the ICs.
Health Professions: The President's budget requests $264.7
million for the Title VII health professions training programs,
a $43 million (19.4 percent) increase over the FY 2009 omnibus.
Within this total, the request proposes increases for the Health
Careers Opportunity Program ($22.1 million, a $3 million or 15.7
percent increase), the Centers of Excellence ($24.6 million, a $4
million or 19.4 percent increase), the primary care medicine and
dentistry training programs ($56.4 million, an $8 million or 16.5
percent increase), the geriatric training programs ($42 million,
an $11 million or 35.5 percent increase), and the Scholarships for
Disadvantaged Students ($52.8 million, a $7 million or 15.3 percent
increase). The budget request also proposes a $10 million boost
for state dental health workforce grants that are authorized in
a different part of the Public Health Service Act, but have been
funded through the Title VII allied health program since FY 2008.
The budget also proposes a substantial increase for the Title VIII
Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP), recommending $125
million, an $87.9 million (237 percent) increase over FY 2009. The
Title VIII Nursing Faculty Loan program also is increased to $16
million, a $4.5 million (39.1 percent) increase. The budget proposes
funding all other Title VIII programs at FY 2009 levels, yielding
$263.4 million for the Title VIII programs in total (a $92.4 million
or 54 percent increase).
The budget identifies the state oral health grants, the Title VIII
NELRP and the Faculty Loan program, as well as the National Health
Service Corps (NHSC), as part of the President's Health Workforce
Initiative.
National Health Service Corps: The President's budget requests
$169 million for the NHSC, a $34 million (25.2 percent) increase
over FY 2009.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: The President's
budget proposes $372 million for AHRQ, as provided in the FY 2009
omnibus. The request recommends maintaining AHRQ's base funding
for comparative effectiveness research (CER) at $50 million, as
provided in the FY 2009 omnibus. ARRA provided $300 million directly
to AHRQ for CER, which the HHS "budget
in brief" identifies as part of the President's health reform
agenda.
Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program:
The President's budget recommends freezing the Children's GME program
at the FY 2009 level of $310 million.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The President's
budget recommends $6.4 billion in discretionary budget authority
for the CDC, the same as the comparable FY 2009 funding level. Within
the total, most programs receive modest increases accommodated primarily
through cuts to funds for CDC buildings and facilities, the health
marketing program, Congressional projects, and elimination of the
Anthrax vaccine research program. The public health research program
is maintained at the FY 2009 level of $31 million.
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Prosthetic Research:
The President's budget requests $580 million for the program, a
$70 million, 13.7 percent increase over FY 2009.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
Medicare, Medicaid Savings to Fund Major Portion
of President's Health Reform Reserve Fund
The President's budget
assumes a health reform reserve fund of over $630 billion over 10
years. Financed in part by $309.1 billion in proposed Medicare and
Medicaid savings over 10 years ($2 billion in FY 2010), the reserve
fund is considered by the administration as a "significant
commitment," but not "sufficient to fully fund comprehensive
reform." The President's proposal states that he looks forward
to "working with Congress to identify additional resources"
to fund coverage expansions and reduce health care costs.
According to the budget summary documents, Medicare legislative
proposals contribute $287.5 billion over 10 years to the health
reform reserve fund ($520 million in FY 2010). Those proposals include
the phase-in of a hospital quality incentive program. The phase-in
would begin in FY 2011 by linking 5 percent of hospital payments
to "performance on specified quality measures." By FY
2015, 15 percent of hospital payments would be linked to such measures.
The President's budget assumes that a portion of the payments "not
earned back" would be "split equally" between the
Medicare Trust Fund and the quality incentive pool. The quality
incentive program would save an estimated $2.98 billion over 5 years
and $12.11 billion over 10 years.
The Medicare legislative proposals also include a 30 percent payment
adjustment for hospitals with readmission rates for "targeted
conditions and procedures" that exceed a national threshold.
The budget assumes such action would save $2.45 billion over 5 years
and $8.43 billion over 10 years. The adjustment would begin in FY
2012 and apply to patients readmitted within 30 days due to "complication
or related diagnosis." Public reporting of hospital readmission
rates would begin in FY 2013. Additionally, the President's budget
assumes an FY 2013 implementation of bundled Medicare payments for
inpatient hospital and post-acute care services (saves $820 million
over 5 years and $16.1 billion over 10 years), as well as a prohibition
on self-referrals to new physician-owned hospitals (existing hospitals
would be "grandfathered," but face limits on expansions).
According to the budget documents, a savings estimate for such legislation
is "not yet available."
The President's budget assumes a $311.1 billion (over 10 years)
"adjustment" to eliminate the 21 percent reduction in
Medicare's CY 2010 physician payments. Intended to "promote
more honest budgeting," the one-time adjustment is the administration's
"best estimate of what the Congress has done in recent years
for physician payments." The budget proposal states, however,
that the adjustment "does not suggest it should be future policy."
According to the budget materials, the administration "would
support comprehensive, but fiscally responsible" physician
payment reforms as part of broad health care reform efforts.
The budget assumes $1.5 billion in Medicaid savings over 5 years,
and $22 billion over 10 years. It includes legislative proposals
to reduce prescription drug payments, increase access to family
planning services, and improve Medicaid program integrity.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Director, Federal Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
President's Budget Proposes to End FFEL Program,
Reform Perkins
The President's FY 2010 budget
proposes to end the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program
and originate all new student loans in the Direct loan program effective
July 1, 2010. The administration estimates that this will save more
than $4 billion a year, which will be reinvested in Pell grants.
The budget notes that in preparation for the transition, the Department
of Education is in the process of hiring some of the companies already
participating in the FFEL program to serve as additional Direct
loan servicers.
The FY 2010 budget also proposes to deliver Perkins Loans under
the same method as Direct loans rather than operating through institutional
revolving funds. Perkins loans would be serviced by the same private-sector
companies servicing Direct Loans. Participating institutions would
still match federal contributions and have discretion with regard
to student eligibility. Perkins Loan borrowers would continue to
be charged the current 5 percent interest rate; interest would accrue
while students are in school. Other terms and conditions and loan
maximums would be the same as the current Unsubsidized Stafford
Loan program. The administration indicates that the Perkins loan
funds would be distributed among institutions using a method to
be determined in consultation with Congress. The administration
intends for this new formula to encourage colleges to control costs
and offer need-based aid to prevent excessive indebtedness. Under
this proposal, the administration estimates that annual loans to
students would increase to $6 billion from the current $1 billion.
Information:
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
AAMC Supports Legislation to Increase GME Training
Slots
Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), May 5 introduced
the AAMC-supported "Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act
of 2009" (S.
973), which increases the number of Medicare-supported graduate
medical education (GME) training positions by 15 percent (approximately
15,000 slots). The bill also addresses Medicare rules that affect
payments for resident time in non-hospital settings such as physician
offices. Finally, the legislation preserves residency slots from
closed hospitals and redistributes the slots among nearby teaching
hospitals. Reps. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.),
and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) introduced companion legislation (H.R.
2251) on May 5.
In a May 5 letter
of support for the legislation, AAMC President and CEO Darrell G.
Kirch, M.D., said, "The AAMC strongly supports your efforts
and leadership to expand residency positions through this legislation."
The letter also pledges the AAMC's "continued support"
in light of the bill's role in "enhanc[ing] the nation's ability
to meet future physician workforce needs."
Information:
Atul Grover, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Advocacy Officer
AAMC Government Relations
agrover@aamc.org
(202) 828-0410
Travis W. Crytzer, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
tcrytzer@aamc.org
(202) 828-0418
Christiane Mitchell, Director, Federal Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
Capital IME, -1.9 Percent Coding Offset in FY
2010 IPPS Proposed Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) May 1 released
the fiscal year (FY) 2010 Medicare hospital inpatient prospective
payment system (IPPS) proposed
rule. The rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal
Register on May 22, and if finalized, will take effect for discharges
on or after Oct. 1, 2009.
Under the rule, CMS proposes to update the IPPS market basket by
2.1 percent, but also to make a corresponding "documentation
and coding" reduction of 1.9 percentage points. The agency
believes this offset is necessary to remove the effect of increases
in aggregate payments caused by changes in hospital coding and documentation
practices under the MS-DRG system that do not reflect increases
in illness severity. The 2.1 percent update for inflation is lower
than in prior years, which CMS states reflects the slowing rate
of inflation. CMS predicts that the net effect of the proposed rule
will be to reduce operating and capital payments to acute care hospitals
by $979 million in FY 2010.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L.
111-5) directed CMS to rescind the 50 percent reduction to capital
IME payments during FY 2009 that had been finalized in the FY 2008
IPPS final rule. This proposed rule updates the regulations to reflect
that ARRA requires the full capital IME adjustment to be paid in
FY 2009. However, the proposed rule also states that the agency
intends to move forward with its plans to eliminate the capital
IPPS teaching adjustment in its entirety for FY 2010.
The proposed rule contains several provisions affecting DGME and
IME payments. Most importantly, the proposed rule would "clarify"
the definition of "new medical residency training program"
when a new teaching hospital is attempting to establish its resident
cap for IME and DGME payments. Many hospitals have relied solely
on accreditation of a new program by the appropriate accrediting
body for purposes of determining whether the program's residents
could be included in the resident cap. CMS now states that it will
look beyond accreditation to factors including whether there is
a new program director, new teaching staff, and new residents in
the program.
Additionally, CMS proposes to increase flexibility in submission
deadlines for new hospitals joining Medicare GME affiliated groups
and to exclude all observation beds from the available bed count
used to determine the intern and resident-to-bed (IRB) ratio for
IME payment purposes.
The proposed rule also contains several changes that would affect
Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, including
how the Medicare and Medicaid fractions that make up the disproportionate
patient percentage are calculated.
In the quality area, there are no proposed additions or deletions
to the list of conditions included in the Hospital-Acquired Conditions
(HAC) program. In the interim, CMS will evaluate the impact of the
HAC program in conjunction with the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The proposed rule outlines changes to the measures required for
reporting under the Reporting of Hospital Quality Data for Annual
Hospital Payment Update (RHQDAPU) program. Four additional measures
are proposed for FY 2011, including two surgical infection prevention
measures and two structural measures focused on participation in
stroke and nursing care registries.
The proposed rule reiterates CMS's plans to build the infrastructure
and develop the measure standards necessary to report quality measures
through electronic health records (EHR). CMS currently is working
with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology (ONC) to identify and harmonize standards for submission
of emergency department, stroke, and venous thromboembolism measures
through EHR submission. The standards should be finalized by late
2009 and will be available for testing in the summer of 2010. Vendors
and hospitals will be able to nominate themselves to participate
in the testing process.
The proposed rule also contains provisions that affect long-term
care hospitals, critical access hospitals, new technology payments,
outlier payments, the labor related share, EMTALA waivers, and the
wage index.
Comments on the proposed rule are due June 30.
Information:
Jennifer Faerberg, Director, Health Care Affairs
AAMC Health Care Affairs
jfaerberg@aamc.org
(202) 862-6221
Karen Fisher, Sr. Director, Health Care Affairs
AAMC Health Care Affairs
kfisher@aamc.org
(202) 862-6140
AAMC Urges Withdrawal of Proposed RAC Guideline
Revision
AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., May 3 submitted
comments
on proposed revisions to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules, published
in the March 4 Federal Register.
The letter expresses concern over a proposed revision that would
require NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) review and
NIH Director approval for all experiments involving "the deliberate
transfer of a drug resistance trait to a microorganism, if such
acquisition could compromise the ability to treat or manage disease
agents in human and veterinary medicine or agriculture." The
current NIH Guidelines state that if the microorganism is known
to acquire the trait naturally, then transfer of the drug resistance
may not need RAC review. The NIH is now proposing to delete the
phrase "that are not known to acquire the trait naturally."
AAMC noted that a number of faculty members "are concerned
that the proposed revision will have a detrimental impact on research
protocols where introduction of antibiotic resistance markers into
bacteria is currently permitted and routinely used. This appears
to be the case in a very large number of molecular and genetic studies."
AAMC said there is "no evidence that any harm has resulted
from the use of antibiotic resistance markers in compliance with
current NIH Guidelines and there is no evidence that such use poses
an actual risk in the future."
AAMC urged NIH to withdraw the proposed revision and recommended
that the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee hold a new public in-depth
review of the scientific, safety, and ethical dimensions of this
proposed change. AAMC did not object to other proposed changes in
the NIH Guidelines.
On May 6, NIH extended
the comment deadline on the proposed revisions from May 4 to June
1.
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Senior Director
AAMC Scientific Affairs
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
Higher Ed Coalition Asks Full Senate to Vote for
Patent Reform
A coalition of higher education associations, including the AAMC,
May 7 asked the Senate leadership to allow a vote on the "Patent
Reform Act of 2009" (S.
515). The letter
to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) states that S. 515 that will bring long-sought
reforms to the U.S. patent systems and "enhance the capacity
of the [U.S.] patent system to promote innovation and strengthen
America's economic competitiveness in the 21st century."
As noted by the associations, many of S. 515's provisions reflect
hard won compromises among industry sectors, including the biotechnology
and the information technology sectors, such as in the bill's provisions
for allocation of damages from patent infringement. The reforms
also include, among others, moving to a first-inventor-to-file system
and expansion of "interpartes reexamination" procedures
permitting affected parties to challenge the award of a patent within
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The higher education coalition seeks further "modifications"
to the bill, but notes that in balance, the bill achieves reforms
that are in the broad public interest. "As associations of
public service institutions that interact with virtually all…[industry]
sectors, we believe patent legislation which balances and incorporates
the principal interests of all parties and strengthens the U.S.
patent system overall should be broadly supported." The coalition
includes the AAMC, the Association of American Universities (AAU),
the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU, formerly
NASULGC), the American Council on Education (ACE), the Council on
Governmental Relations (COGR), and the Association of University
Technology Managers (AUTM).
In further hopes of completing patent reform this year, the House
Judiciary Committee April 30 held a hearing on the companion version
of the Patent Reform Act (H.R.
1260). Both House Judiciary Chair John Conyers (D-Mich.) and
Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) indicated that they have no
intention of accepting the Senate language as it stands. The central
sticking point remains language addressing how to apportion damages
in patent infringement suits.
A webcast of the House Judiciary hearing is available on the committee's
Web
site.
Information:
Susan Ehringhaus, Sr. Director & Regulatory Counsel
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sehringhaus@aamc.org
(202) 828-0543
Stephen Heinig, Lead Science Policy Analyst
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sheinig@aamc.org
(202) 828-0488
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
GAO Publishes Report on Medical Education Debt
and Specialty Choice
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) May 4 released a report
entitled "Graduate Medical Education: Trends in Training and
Student Debt." The report confirms previous AAMC studies on
these issues.
The GAO's primary findings indicate that physician subspecialization
is increasing; students consider a complex set of factors-either
individually or collectively -when selecting a specialty; and although
medical student debt is rising, it is not uniquely influential in
driving specialty choice.
The GAO consulted the AAMC while drafting the report. A summary
of the AAMC comments can be found on page 5 of the report and indicates
"the AAMC largely agreed with the GAO findings and noted that
the report captured the complexities of medical students' decision
making in choosing a specialty." Additionally, the AAMC noted
"trends in specialty choice often shift and have been cyclical
over time. For example, primary care specialties were more popular
in the mid 1990s when managed care was introduced and the anticipated
demand was high."
The GAO report was requested by House Committee on Education and
Labor Chair George Miller (D-Calif.); Ranking Member Howard "Buck"
McKeon (R-Calif.); and Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), Charles W.
Boustany, Jr., M.D. (R-La.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), and Tom Price,
M.D. (R-Ga.).
Information:
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
Rehab Facility Proposed Rule Changes Teaching
Adjustment Methodology
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) May 6 published
in the Federal Register its Medicare inpatient rehabilitation
facility (IRF) proposed
rule for federal fiscal year (FY) 2010. The proposed rule modifies
the methodology for calculating the teaching adjustment factor.
It also applies a 2.4 percent increase factor to IRF payment rates.
If finalized, the changes will be effective Oct. 1, 2009. Comments
on the proposed rule are due June 29.
Currently, teaching rehabilitation facilities receive an add-on
payment. The adjustment is based on a regression analysis as well
as the IRF's ratio of resident-to-average daily census (RADC).
Since the implementation of the teaching status adjustment in 2006,
CMS has calculated the teaching adjustment factor using FY 2003
Medicare claims and cost data. Starting in FY 2010, CMS proposes
to recalculate the adjustment using data for the most recent three
years instead of a single year of data. For example, with this proposed
change, a facility with a 10 percent RADC ratio, will receive a
10.52 percent increase in per discharge payments compared to a 10.47
percent increase if only one year of data were used. CMS believes
that the new approach will minimize unnecessarily large fluctuations
in the adjustment factors from year to year that CMS has identified,
and promote consistency and predictability of IRF prospective payment
system payments over time.
For facilities with larger RADC ratios, CMS estimates that the
new teaching status adjustment combined with the rural and the low-income
patient (LIP) adjustment will have a significant impact. According
to the proposed rule impact table, IRFs with an RADC ratio of 20
percent or greater will see an average increase in per discharge
payments of 2.4 percent. IRFs with an RADC ratio lower than 20 percent
will see an increase in payments of less than 0.5 percent.
Information:
Diana Mayes, Specialist
AAMC Health Care Affairs
dmayes@aamc.org
(202) 828-0498
House and Senate Reach Tentative Agreement on
False Claims Act Legislation
The House May 6 approved an amended version of the Fraud Enforcement
and Reduction Act (FERA, S.
386), which primarily addresses mortgage fraud, but includes
provisions that amend the False Claims Act (FCA). The Senate passed
its version of the bill April 28 [See Washington
Highlights, May 1].
The amended House version includes additional False Claims Act
provisions considered previously under broader FCA bills such as
the "False Claims Act Correction Act of 2009" (H.R.
1788) and "False Claims Act Clarification Act of 2009"
(S.
458). One of the added provisions expands FCA anti-retaliation
protections to a "contractor, or agent," in addition to
an employee, without requiring the prohibited retaliatory acts to
be taken by an "employer." Under the amendment, liability
could potentially extend to many different types of relationships
that do not involve an employment contract. However, the same provision
also would limit liability to discrimination "in the terms
and conditions of employment" as a result of action taken by
the employee to stop further FCA violations.
During consideration on the House floor, Rep. Maffei (D-N.Y.) spoke
in favor of language in S.386 that addresses FCA liability for overpayment
retention, while taking into account "reconciliation processes
established under statutes, regulations, and rules that govern Medicare,
Medicaid, and all sorts of other various research grants and programs."
Before passing S. 386, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) to help clarify that the legislation only
imposes liability under FCA for knowing and improper "retention"
of an overpayment, as opposed to mere "receipt" of an
overpayment. The AAMC April 21 joined 16 organizations in a coalition
letter that supported adoption of the Kyl amendment [see Washington
Highlights, April 24].
The Senate will have to approve the amended version of S. 386 before
sending it to the President, who reportedly supports the measure.
Information:
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
NIH Seeks Comments on COI Regulations
In an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published
in the May 8 Federal Register, the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) seeks public comments on whether the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) should amend regulations on "Responsibility
of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for Which Public
Health Service Funding Is Sought" and on financial conflicts
of interest. In particular, NIH requests comments on expanding the
scope of the regulations and the scope of disclosure, on whether
the definition of Significant Financial Interest should be amended,
on how conflicts should be managed by institutions, on how institutional
compliance should be assured, on the information required to be
submitted to the Public Health Service, and on institutional conflicts
of interest.
Comments must be received by NIH no later than July 7. The AAMC
will be submitting comments on the Advanced Notice and encourages
its member institutions to submit comments.
Information:
Susan Ehringhaus, Sr. Director & Regulatory Counsel
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sehringhaus@aamc.org
(202) 828-0543
Supplemental Spending Bill Includes Pandemic
Flu Funds
The House Appropriations Committee May 7 approved a supplemental
spending bill that reportedly includes $2.0 billion for pandemic
flu preparedness activities, as well as funds for military operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan and international economic and security
assistance. According to May 4 summary
and a May 7 committee-prepared fact-sheet,
the bulk of the flu funds ($1.5 billion) will be directed to "priority
efforts" at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and other activities at the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), including supplements for federal stockpiles; vaccine
development and purchases; and expanded detection efforts. The remainder
of the funds will support state and local pandemic preparedness
and response activities ($350 million), as well as global efforts
to monitor and prevent the spread of a pandemic ($200 million).
The President April 28 submitted a request
for $1.5 billion in pandemic preparedness funding to be included
in the supplemental.
Information:
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
HIT Policy, Standards Committees to Hold Public
Meetings
The federal advisory Health IT Policy Committee will meet
for the first time May 11 at the Department of Health and Human
Services. The committee is tasked by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L.
111-5) with recommending to the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology (HIT) an HIT policy framework. Recommendations
include standards (including standards for exchanging medical information),
implementation specifications, and certifications criteria. Members
of the committee were announced April 3 [see Washington
Highlights, April 10].
The Health IT Standards Committee will hold its inaugural meeting
on May 15. According to the announcement, the Standards Committee
initially will focus on policies developed by the Policy Committee.
ARRA requires the Standards Committee to develop an annual schedule
to evaluate the Policy Committee's recommendations by May 18.
Both meetings are open to the public, though seating is limited.
Interested parties may also participate via "webconference"
or audio teleconference.
Information:
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
On the Hill . . .
The Senate May 5 unanimously adopted a resolution (S.Res.
130) that places Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) as the most junior
Democrat on each of his 5 committees - including the Senate Appropriations
Committee - for the remainder of the 111th Congress. However, Senate
Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced May 7 that he will
step down as chair of the Judiciary Crime and Drugs Subcommittee
and will pass the gavel to Sen. Specter. Senate Democrats reportedly
will reconsider for the 112th Congress whether to account for Sen.
Specter's 29 years as a Senate Republican in making future seniority
determinations such as committee chairmanship.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced May 5 that
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) temporarily will fill a vacant
seat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)
Committee. Seats on the Senate HELP, Special Aging, and Indian Affairs
Committees were left vacant to allow the recount for the Minnesota
Senate race to be resolved.
The Senate May 6 confirmed William Corr as Deputy Secretary of
Health and Human Services. Most recently, Mr. Corr was Executive
Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids. The Senate also
confirmed Yvette Roubideaux, M.D., as Administrator of the Indian
Health Service. Dr. Roubideaux's background includes research on
American Indian health issues, with a focus on diabetes.
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