Washington Highlights: October 23,
2009
Contents
Prior Issues
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Medical Research Stakeholders Urge Sustained,
Increased Support for NIH
Leaders from the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals,
universities, industry, and patient and scientific communities joined
together Oct. 21 to thank Congress and the Obama administration
for the medical research funding included in the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L.
111-5), and to urge significant, annual budget increases for
the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Speakers at the event
included Edward D. Miller, M.D., dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine
and chair of the ResearchMeansHope.org campaign;
Chloe Lamprecht, a 12-year-old diabetes patient and volunteer with
the American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
International, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center; Olivia
Grace Jones, a 5-year old heart patient and American Heart Association
volunteer and her parents; and former Congressman Billy Tauzin,
president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers
of America (PhRMA).
Numerous organizations, including AAMC,
issued statements
urging continued support for increased investments in the NIH. In
its statement,
the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, an AAMC-founded coalition
of more than 300 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and
scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry,
noted, "We believe that the Recovery Act funding for medical
research is a necessary first step in the overall strategy to revitalize
our nation's economy. It is absolutely essential, however, that
this scientific and economic momentum be sustained by a long-term
national commitment to stabilize medical research funding."
Organized by ResearchMeansHope.org - a campaign to raise public
awareness of the critical need for continued growth in federal medical
research funding - the event commemorated National Medical Research
Day. The AAMC is a founding sponsor of the campaign, along with
the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public
and Land-grant Universities, the Federation of American Societies
for Experimental Biology, Johns Hopkins University, and more than
40 other organizations.
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
Omnibus Spending Bill Likely for FY 2010
Progress on the FY 2010 appropriations bills continues to be slow
in the Senate, necessitating passage of another short-term funding
extension to keep the government running into November, and increasing
the likelihood that Congress will need to pass a multi-bill package
to complete its FY 2010 appropriations work. The federal government
is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) attached
to the Legislative Branch spending bill (P.L.
111-68), which extended funding for most federal programs through
Oct. 31 [see Washington Highlights,
Oct. 2].
As of Oct. 22, Congress had sent only four of the 12 annual spending
bills to the president, and House and Senate negotiators are working
on three other bills: Defense, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD.
With health care legislation coming to the floor, many observers
believe there will be little time left for the Senate to consider
individually the five spending bills it has yet to approve as well
as eight conference agreements. The Labor-HHS-Education bill (H.R.
3293) is one of the five that has not been approved by the Senate
[see Washington Highlights,
Sept. 11].
Senate Appropriations Chair Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) Oct. 20 told
reporters that he expected to complete the appropriations process
through an omnibus bill perhaps by the first week in December.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Senate Tables Physician Payment Relief
In an Oct. 21 procedural vote of 47-51,
the Senate fell short of securing the 60 votes needed to continue
floor consideration of AAMC-supported Medicare physician payment
legislation. Introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the Medicare
Physician Fairness Act of 2009 (S.
1776) repeals the problematic Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)
methodology used to calculate physician payments. It also fully
eliminates the 21.5 percent SGR deficit of $245 billion over 10
years [see Washington Highlights,
Oct. 16].
Shortly before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) urged his colleagues to oppose the bill because it lacked
a budgetary offset. Calling the Republicans' opposition to S. 1776
a "tactic" to slow progress on health care reform, Majority
Leader Harry Reid assured the physician community that the Senate
would "take care" of Medicare beneficiaries and providers
by passing multi-year physician payment relief "after health
care reform."
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Director, Federal Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
President Signs VA Health Care Advanced Funding
Bill
President Obama Oct. 22 signed
the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009
(H.R.
1016) to authorize advanced-year funding for the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care programs. The bill authorizes
Congress to appropriate discretionary funds for certain programs
one year ahead of the current budget process, starting with FY 2011.
The VA medical care programs include Medical Services; Medical
Support and Compliance; and Medical Facilities. While the original
House-passed measure included advanced funding for the VA Medical
and Prosthetic Research and Information Technology Systems programs,
these accounts were removed in conference with the Senate version
(S.
423) [see Washington Highlights,
June 26].
Both the House and Senate FY 2010 Military Construction and Veterans
Affairs appropriations bills include FY 2011 funding for the VA
medical care accounts. The House July 10 approved its VA appropriations
bill (H.R.
3082) [see Washington Highlights,
July 17]. The full Senate has yet to act on its VA appropriations
bill (S.
1407), which the Senate Appropriations Committee approved July
7.
Information:
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
HIT Policy Committee Workgroup Hears Testimony
on Laboratory Data Exchange
The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee's Information
Exchange Workgroup Oct. 20 heard public testimony on issues related
to the electronic exchange of laboratory data. The workgroup stated
that the focus of this meeting reflected how important laboratory
data exchange will be to qualifying as a "meaningful user"
of electronic health records (EHRs). The workgroup also announced
that it will be considering this testimony in developing recommendations
over the next two months on the electronic exchange of laboratory
data.
During the meeting, the workgroup heard background presentations
from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
(ONC) and heard testimony from vendors, laboratories, states, and
policy experts. Testimony addressed a wide variety of stakeholder
perspectives on laboratory data exchange issues and included discussions
about the current lack of unified standards or common vocabulary
and the bounds of vendor and laboratory responsibility under the
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA).
The meeting agenda and all written testimony from the workgroup
presentations are available on the HIT Policy Committee Web
site. A more detailed summary
of the meeting is posted to the AAMC HIT Web
site.
Information:
Lori K. Mihalich-Levin, J.D., Senior Policy Analyst
AAMC Health Care Affairs
lmlevin@aamc.org
(202) 828-0599
Mary Patton, Senior Specialist
AAMC Health Care Affairs
mpatton@aamc.org
(202) 862-6297
President Signs FDA Spending Bill
The President Oct. 21 signed the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations
bill (P.L. 111-80, H.Rept.
111-279), which includes $2.357 billion for the FDA. The FDA
funding level represents a $306 million (14.9 percent) increase
over funding appropriated in FY 2009. The enacted funding also exceeds
by $7 million the funding proposed by the House, Senate, and the
President's request.
The House approved its version of the spending bill (H.R.
2997, H.Rept.
111-181) on July 9, and the Senate approved its version (S.
1406, S.
Rept. 111-39) nearly a month later on Aug. 4.
Information:
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
On the Agenda in Washington
Oct. 26: National Research Advisory Council Meeting
8:30 a.m.; Room GL-20, Greenhoot Cohen Building, 1722 "Eye"
St. NW
National Research Advisory Council of the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) will hold a meeting
to review the VA research portfolio and current budget allocations,
as well as provide feedback on the direction/focus of VA's research
initiatives.
Oct. 26-27: NSF Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering
8:30 a.m.; National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
Va.
The National Science Foundation Committee on Equal Opportunities
in Science and Engineering will meet
to review and recommend policies and programs concerning broadening
the participation of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons
with disabilities in science and engineering.
Oct. 27-28: Human Research Protections Advisory Committee
Meeting
8:30 a.m.; Sheraton National Hotel, 900 South Orme Street, Arlington,
Va.
The HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections
will meet
Oct. 27-28. Agenda items include a briefing on harmonization efforts
at NIH and presentations on AAHRPP's recently revised standards
for accreditation; types of informed consent tools and mechanisms;
and, regulatory barriers that may be associated with community based
and participatory research.
Oct. 27-28: HIT Policy Committee
10 a.m.; The Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington,
D.C.
The full HIT Policy Committee will meet
to hear presentations from the Meaningful Use, Certification/Adoption,
and Information Exchange Workgroups and will hear testimony from
experts on the mapping of core Meaningful Use objectives and existing
measures to medical specialties, small practices, and small hospitals.
Oct. 28: Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Health Care
Fraud
10 a.m.; 226 Dirksen Building
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing
titled "Effective Strategies for Preventing Health Care Fraud."
The hearing originally was scheduled for Oct. 21.
Oct. 29: HIT Standards Committee's Implementation Workgroup
9 a.m.; The Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW, Washington,
D.C.
The Implementation Workgroup will meet
to hear testimony from stakeholder groups on health information
technology adoption experiences with the proposed standards.
Oct. 30: NIH Council of Public Representatives Meeting
9:00 a.m.; NIH campus, Building 31, C Wing, 6th floor, Bethesda,
Md.
The NIH Council of Public Representatives (COPR) will meet
to discuss direction in research on complementary medicine, international
biomedical research initiatives, comparative effectiveness, and
other topics.
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