December 2007 Advocacy Update

Congress Approves $133 Million Increase for NIH
After much debate, the Congress and the President finally agreed on an omnibus budget package for fiscal year 2008 that "hews closely to the White House's budget limits but shifts billions of dollars to the Democratic majority’s priorities." Under the package, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) receives $28.942 billion, an increase of $133 million (+.46 percent). This includes $294.7 million transfer to the Global AIDS Fund. The legislation provides $495.6 million for NIH Common Fund, an increase of $12.6 million (+2.61 percent). These budget numbers are disturbing as they do not even keep pace with biomedical inflation (expected to be 3.7 percent). Please visit the Policy and Practice News section for more information.

In February, President Bush will release his proposed FY 2009 budget. ASH will launch grassroots campaigns to increase NIH funding appropriately and will keep the membership appraised of all developments through The Hematologist, the ASH Web site, and the electronic newsletter The Advocacy Update.

Congress Passes Six-Month Delay of Physician Payment Cut
At the end of December, Congress and the President agreed to provide physicians with a temporary reprieve from the scheduled 10.1 percent payment rate cut that was to go into effect January 1, 2008, and increase Medicare physician fees by .5 percent until July 1, 2008. The legislative fix comes as a part of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends several programs that provide higher Medicare reimbursement rates to rural health care providers and hospital laboratories. The legislation, however, does not address future physician fee cuts, which means the 10.1 percent cut will go back into effect after the six months in the absence of additional Congressional action. A complete update on this important issue is available under Policy and Practice News.

Legislation Extends 2007 Payment Rates for Radioimmunotherapy Agents
In addition to a physician payment fix, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 provides an extension of the 2007 payment methodology for radioimmunotherapy agents, used in treatment of lymphoma, through June 2008. In the 2008 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment Rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had announced a new bundled payment structure that would have cut reimbursement for this service by 50 percent, therefore limiting its provision. ASH was a leading advocate in securing appropriate payment for these agents. ASH’s letter to the Senate Finance Committee on the issue can be found onthe ASH Web site.

If you have any questions or need additional information about any of the items in this Update, please contact the ASH Government Relations and Practice office at 202-776-0544 or at grassroots@hematology.org.