Lawmakers Will Take ‘Largely Symbolic’ Votes Before November Elections, CQ’s Goldreich Says

Congress is scheduled this week to take a number of votes on health issues considered "largely symbolic" as the November elections approach, Congressional Quarterly senior reporter Samuel Goldreich says in this week's "Congressional Quarterly Audio Report." First, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to vote Sept. 18 on a bill (HR 4600) concerning medical malpractice insurance (Goldreich, "Congressional Quarterly Audio Report," 9/17). The bill would limit the amount patients could be awarded for noneconomic damages to $250,000. Punitive damages would be limited to $250,000 or twice economic damages, whichever is greater. Economic damages, such as medical expenses or lost income, would remain uncapped. House Republican leadership aides have said they intend to move the bill to the House floor by the week of Sept. 23 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/16). But Goldreich says there is "no chance for a deal" on the bill, which Democrats say is an "attempt by insurers, doctors and hospitals to choke off patients' access to representation" in malpractice cases. In addition, Goldreich says the House Ways and Means Committee is set to vote this week on a bill (HR 4889) concerning reporting of medical errors ("Congressional Quarterly Audio Report," 9/17). The bill calls for doctors, nurses and other health professionals to voluntarily report medical errors to data banks called patient safety organizations. The organizations would analyze the reports and suggest ways to prevent future errors. All reports would remain confidential and could not be used in malpractice lawsuits (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/13). Goldreich says the bill will "face some resistance" from Democrats, but he adds that a compromise could be reached before Congress adjourns. The House this week also is scheduled to vote on a bill (HR 1784) that would establish a permanent women's health office at HHS, which Goldreich notes has an "excellent" chance of passing. Concerning legislation to increase payments for Medicare providers, Goldreich says that "most bets are there will be no action" until after the election is over.

Vaccine Shortage, Cancer Funding
Goldreich also addresses other health issues, including a report to be released Sept. 17 by the General Accounting Office on a shortage of five common childhood vaccines. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Public Health Subcommittee will host a hearing Sept. 17 on the subject. Goldreich says the report shows that whenever there is a product change or the manufacturing processes is altered, it "disrupts the flow of vaccines to pharmacies, doctors, and health clinics, which is the "same warning" the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee offered in June. Goldreich also notes that Lance Armstrong, a multiple winner of the Tour de France bicycle race and a cancer survivor, will appear before Congress this week to lobby for increased cancer research funding, an appearance Goldreich says is more than just "a photo op." Armstrong's lobbying is part of a "sustained campaign to massively expand funding for research and assistance for cancer survivors," Goldreich says. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) on Sept. 17 are expected to introduce a bill that would allocate $140 million to upgrade NIH's Office of Cancer Survivorship and add $40 million to the CDC's budget. The funding request is "going to be a very public test of President Bush's effort to hold the line on new spending," Goldreich says. He also notes that there appears to be "plenty of money available" to move forward on the administration and Congress' five-year plan to increase the NIH budget twofold. Some lawmakers have proposed earmarking a portion of that increase for cancer survivors, but Goldreich says that the administration "generally opposes all efforts to earmark funding." He adds, "It's a question of how NIH should spend [the money] and a lot of that increase is devoted to defending against bioterrorism," adding, "[I]t should be interesting" to see what happens (Goldreich, "Congressional Quarterly Audio Report," 9/17).
Goldreich's report is available online.