NHLBI Seeks New Director
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is looking for a visionary and inspired Director to lead the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources into the next decade. Several retirements have created an unusual opportunity for the new Director to build his or her own leadership team, including a Deputy Director and a Director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Branch. NHLBI has recently completed a Strategic Plan, the implementation of which, as it applies to blood disorders and resources, will be the responsibility of the Director and team. This is a unique opportunity to have an impact on the field of hematology and the broader research agenda. For information, please contact Susan B. Shurin, MD, Deputy Director, NHLBI, at shurinsb@nhlbi.nih.gov.
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News Headlines from Washington
FY 2008 Funding for NIH Still in Question
With fiscal year (FY) 2008 having begun on October 1 and funding levels for the year still not approved and finalized, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the federal government and various federal programs at FY 2007 levels while completing work on FY 2008 funding bills. When this issue of The Hematologist went to print, Congressional leaders had established mid-November as their target date for adjournment for the year and to finalize FY 2008 funding levels.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees’ proposed FY 2008 NIH funding essentially represents a cut for NIH, because the small increases it provides do not keep pace with the projected 3.7 percent increase in biomedical inflation. The House version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS spending bill provides a net increase of $549 million (1.9 percent) over FY 2007 for NIH. Meanwhile, the net increase proposed by the Senate for the NIH budget in its draft bill is $799 million (2.8 percent) over FY 2007.
Though the full House ultimately passed its version of the funding bill, timing for consideration by the full Senate remained in question as this issue of The Hematologist went to print, though congressional leaders sought to complete all outstanding work on FY 2008 funding bills by mid-November. It is likely that the Labor-HHS funding bill will be combined with additional funding bills into an “omnibus” bill.
ASH encourages all members to visit the ASH Advocacy Center to help influence the budget process and find the most up-to-date information about NIH funding and ASH’s advocacy efforts.
Congress Delays Tamper-Proof Rx Pad Regulation
Physicians and pharmacies will have an extra six months to implement a Medicaid requirement that prescriptions be written on tamper-resistant paper for pharmacies to receive reimbursement. New legislation passed at the end of September resolved the problem that the original tamper-proof mandate implementation date of October 1, 2007, did not provide enough time for states to acquire the pads. The extension means that pharmacies will be able to avoid having to forgo reimbursement or turn away patients.
Congress Approves FDA Authorization Bill
Both the House and Senate approved a comprehensive legislative package to reauthorize drug industry user fees, provide greater incentives for pediatric drug testing, and require reporting of clinical trial results. The final legislation (H.R. 3580) reflects a compromise between House and Senate bills to reauthorize various programs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The measure reauthorizes through FY 2012 the Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments (PDUFA) and the Medical Device User Fee Amendments (MDUFA), and includes a number of provisions intended to improve drug safety. Also included in the bill is a provision expanding the ClinicalTrials.gov data bank at the Library of Medicine to include registry information for clinical trials of all drugs, biologics, and devices, as well as results for clinical trials of approved products.
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Take Action: Act Now to Stop Scheduled Medicare Physician Pay Cuts
Urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to avert the scheduled Medicare payment cuts to physicians. If Congress does not take action this year, Medicare will cut physician reimbursement by 10 percent in January 2008, with additional cuts scheduled in following years.
As this issue of The Hematologist was going to press, the Senate Finance Committee had begun to draft legislation that would eliminate the scheduled 10 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements to physicians. Earlier in the fall, the House of Representatives had included a provision in the State Children’s Health Initiative Program (SCHIP) that would replace the scheduled cut with a .5 percent increase in 2008 and 2009. That provision, however, was stripped from the bill, and therefore a new legislative vehicle is necessary.
You can help by asking your Representative and Senators to prevent the scheduled cut in 2008 and replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula.
Please visit the ASH Advocacy Center to send an e-mail to Congress.
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