Senate Appropriations Committee Releases Details of Second Economic Stimulus Package With Health Care Provisions

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday released details of a draft of a second economic stimulus package that includes some provisions related to health care, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, CongressDaily, 7/31). Among other provisions, the package includes:

• $570 million for nutrition programs;
  
  
• $792 million in loans and grants for rural community facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, health and safety vehicles and equipment, and adult and child care facilities;
  
  
• $500 million for NIH for grants for studies on cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and other diseases;
  
  
• $350 million to improve hospital care in Louisiana and Mississippi;
  
  
• $172 million for USDA to upgrade computer programs and implement the farm bill;
  
  
• $91 million to address public health and social services needs after natural disasters; and
  
  
• $26 million for CDC to treat infectious diseases (CQ Today, 7/30).

AARP Recommendations
AARP this week in a letter to House leaders made recommendations on provisions to include in a second economic stimulus package, CQ HealthBeat reports. Among other provisions, AARP recommended additional funds for state Medicaid programs. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday endorsed most of the recommendations. She said that the package will include at least $50 billion in funds (Conlon/Young, CQ HealthBeat, 7/25).