Bioterrorism Shifts Focus From Health Care Bills, CongressDaily’s Rovner Writes

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, "none" of the health care legislation that was expected to pass this year now is likely to do so, Julie Rovner writes in a column for CongressDaily/AM. For example, despite a bipartisan push for a Medicare prescription drug benefit, no bill has cleared a subcommittee and neither the House nor the Senate has appointed conferees to work out a compromise patients' rights bill. With congressional leaders "vow[ing]" to enact antibioterrorism legislation before recessing until next year, Rovner writes that it is "clear that none" of pre-Sept. 11 items "will advance." However, some bills "in the pipeline could yet emerge." Below are four issues that Rovner predicts may receive congressional attention:

• Pediatric exclusivity: While the House and Senate each passed "slightly different" versions of a bill that renews a 1997 law giving drug companies a six-month patent extension for testing treatments on children, passage has been "slowed marginally" by Democratic complaints that the law has created "windfall profits" for pharmaceutical companies. Also, drug industry infighting over a loophole in the law that Bristol-Myers Squibb is using to claim a three-and-a-half year patent extension is slowing passage of the bill. However, Rovner writes that "a deal is expected shortly."
• Mental health parity: A measure to extend a law that makes mental health benefits equal to those for physical illnesses has been a "top priority" for consumer and mental health groups, and a version has passed the Senate. However, the House has included a provision to extend the current law as part of its economic stimulus package. Chances of the measure passing Congress are "50-50."
• Medicare regulatory relief: Two House committees have passed bills that would give providers "stronger appeal" rights with Medicare officials, but "merging the two bills has proved more difficult than anticipated." Also, the Senate has only "scant interest" in the issue. Rover writes the bill will likely become law, "but maybe not this year."
• The uninsured: Chances for legislation to help the unemployed keep their health insurance are "slim at best," since the parties are divided on what action to take. Democrats favor expanding COBRA coverage and providing additional Medicaid funding to the states, while Republicans want to provide states with grants for unemployment or health benefits. Also, centrists in the Senate have proposed passing tax cuts to allow individuals to pay for their own premiums (Rovner, CongressDaily/AM, 11/29).