2009-07-16
On July 15, the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), passed the Affordable Health Choices Act. This is the first health care reform bill to be voted out of committee. The Committee approved the bill on a party-line 13-10 vote.
The legislation would result in a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system. It would require individuals to obtain health insurance and require employers to help cover the costs for their workers. It would create a new, government-run insurance option to compete with private insurance plans in marketplace exchanges where individuals could compare and choose among plans. It also would make major changes to how health care is delivered, including a strong emphasis on preventive care and wellness. The Act would cover many of the nation’s uninsured, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The HELP bill does not include any provisions related to Medicare or Medicaid spending or savings, because these programs are only under the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee in the Senate. The bill does include numerous policies of importance to hematologists, which ASH is closely monitoring. These include the creation of a regulatory pathway at the FDA for approval of biosimilar products; the establishment of a National Strategy for Quality Improvement, which will include quality initiatives in both public and private insurance plans; the development of a comparative effectiveness research process and agenda; investments to enhance the supply of the health care workforce and support to the existing workforce. There are also several provisions aimed at reducing fraud and abuse in the health care system.
The HELP bill will need to be combined with the Finance Committee's bill before a single bill moves to the Senate floor for a vote. The Finance Committee has not yet released its legislation, but is expected to do so this week or next with a markup soon thereafter. The Finance Committee will address Medicare and Medicaid issues – core issues for that committee – including specific physician payment issues. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who chairs this committee, is striving to develop bipartisan legislation. The goal of Senate leadership and the Obama administration is to have a vote on the floor before the Senate recess begins on August 10th, but it is unclear whether they will be able to meet this deadline.
On July 14th, the leaders of the House committees of jurisdiction released the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200). The House bill will begin to be marked up this week by the relevant House Committees of Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce. It appears that the Committees in the House will pass different versions of the health reform bill, which will need to be reconciled prior to the vote by the full House prior to the August recess. Therefore, provisions continue to change.
The legislation on health care reform continues to evolve quickly and there will be significant Congressional activity on health reform in the next few weeks. ASH is closely monitoring this legislation as it relates to hematologists and will keep the membership apprised as the bills move forward.
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