CQ’s Carey Discusses Proposed Health Care Fund, Appropriations Bill, Push for Reform
CQ HealthBeat Associate Editor Mary Agnes Carey discusses health care reform measures in President Obama's budget, the omnibus spending package that includes fiscal year 2009 funding for HHS and efforts to pass comprehensive health care legislation this year in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."Carey says that the budget plan Obama released last week would make several changes to health care spending to help create a $634 billion fund that would offset the costs of reforming health care. The budget would change the way Medicare Advantage plans work, requiring participating insurers to submit bids to Medicaid, which the administration estimates will save about $175 billion over the next 10 years, according to Carey. She also said that the plan would lower payments to hospitals that have high rates of readmission and would partially link Medicare hospital payments to the quality of care delivered. The budget plan also would require that drugmakers give larger discounts to Medicaid and would lower Medicare payments to home health agencies. In addition, Obama would increase FDA funding for food and drug safety programs, and allow U.S. residents to buy pharmaceuticals imported from foreign countries. Carey says that $316 billion for the health care fund will come from these changes and the rest would come from tax increases for households with annual incomes of $250,000 or more.
Carey also discusses the $410 billion FY 2009 appropriations bill that is pending in Congress. The bill, according to Carey, includes about $152 billion for labor, health and education programs -- an increase of nearly $6 billion from FY 2008. HHS would see a 4% increase over last year, while NIH would receive about $932 million more than last year, and funding to train health care professionals would increase about 12% to $110 billion. The House has approved the bill and the Senate is scheduled to begin deliberations this week. Carey reports that Republicans are expected to propose amendments to reduce spending levels.
In addition, Carey says that Obama and several Democratic congressional leaders are calling for action on health care this year. Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) last week said that waiting another year on health reform would result in more U.S. residents losing their health insurance and would increase costs for the federal government and for those who do have coverage. Carey reports that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee will continue to meet with groups in an attempt to form a consensus on the issue and draft legislation. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee also are developing their own overhaul plans, and the White House hosts a health reform summit this week. However, according to Carey, the economy continues to be a "major sticking point" in the reform effort. The continuing recession could cause lawmakers to focus on other issues, she says, although many lawmakers say health care reform is of critical importance to a potential economic recovery (Carey, "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ," 3/2).
The complete audio version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.org This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
