2010-03-18

Congressional Leaders Seek to Schedule Final Vote on Health Reform Legislation as President Obama and Democratic Leaders Seek Support
Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives hope to have a vote on a final health reform bill this Sunday or early next week. It remains unclear, however, as to whether House Democrats will be able to get the 216 votes necessary to pass health reform. Read more.

Clinical Trials Coverage Provision Expected to Be Included in Final Health Reform Bill
With the House expected to adopt the Senate-passed version of health reform legislation, an ASH-supported provision to require coverage of routine patient costs associated with clinical trial participation is expected to be included in the final bill. Read more.

Contact Legislators Now to Stop the 21 Percent Medicare Physician Payment Cut: Stalemate Between House and Senate Jeopardizes Payments Beginning April 1
In order to avoid the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut scheduled to begin on April 1, the House of Representatives and Senate must agree on language and have it approved by both chambers. Currently, the House and Senate have separately passed legislation with different terms, but have not been able to agree and pass the same piece of legislation, which is required to avoid the cuts.

Please join ASH’s advocacy campaign to urge the House and Senate to protect physician access to Medicare and TriCare beneficiaries. It is critical that all members of Congress hear from their physician constituents about the need to prevent the 21 percent Medicare payment cut scheduled to begin April 1. Read more.

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on FY 2011 HHS Budget Request
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing regarding President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Read more.

March is DVT Awareness Month: ASH Recommendations Unveiled to Respond to Public Health Crisis in DVT and PE
Recommendations to address the growing public health crisis in deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) have been published in the March 9, 2010, Supplement to American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM): Blood Disorders in Public Health – Making the Connection. Read more.

ASH Submits Comments in Support of Revision of hESCs Definition for NIH Guidelines
On February 23, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposed a technical correction to its guidelines on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, clarifying that lines derived from embryos up to and including the blastocyst stage are eligible for use in federally funded research, if otherwise eligible. ASH submitted comments to NIH in support of this revision. Read more.

ASH Responds to NIH RFI on the Priorities for Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Opportunities Network
ASH recently submitted comments to the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research in response to a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input about current and emerging priorities in basic behavioral and social sciences research. The Society’s comments to NIH focused on the specific behavioral and social sciences research needs in patients with sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and anemia. Read more.

NHLBI and CDC Launch Registry and Surveillance System in Hemoglobinopathies
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have implemented a new surveillance system to determine the number of patients diagnosed with hemoglobinopathies (including sickle cell disease, thalassemias, and hemoglobin E disease). Read more.

NIH and FDA Announce Collaborative Initiative to Fast-Track Innovations to the Public
On February 23, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an initiative designed expedite to the process to get scientific breakthroughs to patients. Read more.

NIH Office of Extramural Research Releases March 2010 Newsletter
The NIH Office of Extramural Research has released its March 2010 newsletter, which includes information on the support for research training included in President Obama’s FY 2011 budget proposal and the new grant application formats that have been phased in as part of the Enhancing Peer Review initiative. Read more.