2009-11-01

White House and Congress Reaffirm Commitment to Passing Health Reform Bill This Year

In a September speech to a special joint session of Congress, President Obama outlined three essential goals that are vital to health-care reform efforts in this country, including ensuring the current system remains secure and stable for those who already have insurance coverage and are happy with it, making insurance coverage affordable and accessible to those who need it, and reducing unnecessary costs and waste in the current system. During a subsequent conference call with physicians, White House staff also strongly reaffirmed the Obama administration’s support for fixing the Sustainable Growth Rate formula as part of any health reform that is enacted.

Following the President’s speech, Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate came away even more determined to pass legislation this year. As this issue of The Hematologist went to print, Senate leaders were preparing to bring health reform legislation to the Senate floor for a vote by the end of October and House leaders were seeking to combine three committee proposals into a single bill before scheduling a vote. Meanwhile, the official response from Republican leaders is that they urge President Obama to scrap his ideas and start anew. Their list of objections to the President’s plan include the public option, which they say would drive out private insurers, and the Democrats’ insistence on a mandate that all Americans buy health  insurance, either through work, on their own, or with a public subsidy.

Outlook: At present, ASH believes that we can expect a health reform bill sometime around Thanksgiving or in early December. We believe there will be a bill for several reasons. First, President Obama is absolutely committed to this, and his September speech to the Congress reignited efforts to pass a bill this year. Second, there is actually a lot of agreement on legislation despite the media reports that focus on differences.

Finally, the Democrats who support health reform are in the majority, and, while they would like to have a bipartisan bill, they can pass something without Republican support. Sixty votes are needed in order to bring health reform legislation to the floor in the Senate. With the appointment of Democrat Paul Kirk to fill the vacancy left by the death of Sen. Kennedy in August, the Democrats currently count 60, including Independent Sens. Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders. Senate leaders were also able to secure the support of a single Republican, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, during committee consideration of the legislation. Sen. Snowe, however, has warned Democratic leaders that she still has reservations about the legislation and that she could easily withdraw her support as the bill continues to make its way through the Senate. For updated information about the status of health reform, please visit the ASH Web site at www.hematology.org.

FY 2010 Funding for NIH Still in Question

Although congressional leaders made significant progress in advancing their respective versions of bills to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year (FY) 2010 over the summer, none of the FY 2010 appropriations bills had yet been finalized as this issue of The Hematologist went to print. With FY 2010 having begun on October 1 and funding levels for the year still not finalized, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the federal government and various federal programs at FY 2009 levels, while completing work on FY 2010 funding bills.

The House proposal contains $31.3 billion for biomedical research at NIH in its version of the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This level represents an increase of $500 million over the President’s request and $942 million over final FY 2009 funding levels. However, a version of the bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee includes only $30.8 billion to fund biomedical research at NIH, an amount equal to the President’s request and approximately 1.65 percent over FY 2009. Though the full House ultimately passed its version of the funding bill at the end of July, timing for consideration by the full Senate remained in question as this issue of The Hematologist went to print. Congressional leaders have indicated a desire to complete, pass, and finalize all FY 2010 funding bills individually, but it is likely that the Labor-HHS funding bill may be once again combined with additional funding bills into an “omnibus” bill.

Harkin Named Chairman of Senate HELP Committee

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has been named chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Sen. Harkin succeeds the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who served as chairman of the HELP Committee until his death on August 25.

As chairman of the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, a position which he will retain, Sen. Harkin has been a strong supporter of funding for NIH, has led efforts in the Senate to expand federally funded stem cell research, and has been active in health-care reform efforts. In assuming the chairmanship of the HELP Committee, Sen. Harkin will exert even more influence and control over policy in these areas.

Susan Shurin Named Acting Director at NICHD

Susan Shurin, MD, deputy director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), has been named acting director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health. NICHD was initially established to investigate the broad aspects of human development as a means of understanding developmental disabilities and the events that occur during pregnancy. Today, the Institute conducts and supports research on all stages of human development, from preconception to adulthood, to better understand the health of children, adults, families, and communities.

Dr. Shurin has been deputy director at NHLBI since 2006 and also served as acting director of NHLBI’s Division of Blood Diseases and Resources between March 2008 and January 2009. Dr. Shurin will continue in her role as deputy director at NHLBI, while serving as acting director at NICHD. This appointment now brings to three the number of NIH Institute or Center directors who are hematologist.

ASH/EHA Policy Forum to Focus on the Cost of Health Care

The ASH/EHA Policy Forum will be held during the 2009 ASH Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, on Sunday December 6, 2009, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and will be co-chaired by ASH President Nancy Berliner, MD, and EHA President Robert Foà, MD. This year’s discussion will focus on balancing cost, quality, and access to health care. The Policy Forum’s featured speaker will be Paul B. Ginsburg, PhD, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a nonpartisan research organization that is nationally recognized for its work in health economics and health policy, particularly health-care market changes and cost trends. Dr. Ginsburg previously served as executive director of the Physician Payment Review Commission (the predecessor to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission) and as deputy assistant director of the Congressional Budget Office. Dr. Ginsburg received his PhD in economics from Harvard University and has served on the faculties of Duke and Michigan State Universities. Given his area of expertise, Dr. Ginsburg has been asked to provide his perspective and views as a health economist about how the United States should manage cost and how the latest changes in health reform may impact cost, quality, and access in the nation’s health-care system.

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