The Week In Health Reform

The Week in Health Reform—Federal Legislative Overview

The White House
On March 3, President Obama continued his push for Members of Congress to complete health insurance reform legislation within the upcoming weeks.  He delivered a statement to a group of medical professionals in the East Room of the White House, in which he said that he has asked Senate and House leaders to finish work on health reform and schedule final votes in the next few weeks.  The President went on to say that the issues have been debated thoroughly and that now is the time to make a decision.  Although he did not specifically mention the budget reconciliation process, the President said that the American people deserve an “up or down” vote on health reform in the same way that welfare reform and tax cuts were approved by Congress in the past under reconciliation rules.

The President said that health insurance reform would change three things:

* End the “worst practices” of health insurance companies
* Give individuals and small businesses the same kind of choices members of Congress have
* Bring down health care costs for families, businesses and the government

The President made numerous references to the health insurance industry and stated that there is a fundamental disagreement between Republicans and Democrats about whether there should be more or less regulation of health insurance companies.  The President concluded by emphasizing that he will do everything in his power to make the case for health reform in the coming weeks, and he also urged the American people to make their voices heard.

In addition, the President said he is open to exploring policy priorities identified by Republicans at the bipartisan summit such as:

* Conducting undercover investigations of health care providers that receive reimbursement from federal programs.
* Appropriating funds for state-based demonstration programs to test alternative approaches, including health courts, to resolving medical malpractice suits.
* Linking Medicaid eligibility expansions to higher Medicaid reimbursement for physicians.

* Clarifying that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) may be offered through the proposed health insurance exchanges.

On March 4, Health Care Service Corporation President and CEO Pat Hemingway Hall attended a meeting at the White House, along with CEOs from other leading health insurance companies and officials from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.  The group met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama to discuss premium issues in the individual market.

House and Senate
Congressional leaders are now focused intensely on developing legislative language that could be supported by a majority of members in both chambers.  The President’s comments last week send a strong signal that such legislation, once finalized, would move through Congress under budget reconciliation procedures.

Under reconciliation rules, the House first would have to pass the Senate version of the health care reform bill, H.R. 3590, which passed on Christmas Eve last year.  After that, the House would then be required to pass a separate “corrections” bill incorporating specific changes to that bill that will likely be negotiated among White House officials and House and Senate leaders.  After the House passes the “corrections” bill, under budget reconciliation procedures, the Senate would need at least 50 senators to vote for the “corrections” bill.  Under reconciliation rules, only a simple-majority vote of 51 votes are needed for passage (Vice President Joe Biden would be the 51st vote if only 50 senators vote for the bill) and filibusters are banned.

In order to meet the goal of sending a final health reform bill to the President’s desk before the Easter recess (which is scheduled to begin on March 29), congressional leaders would need to send legislative language to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for cost analysis in the very near future. On March 4, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that President Obama hopes the House of Representatives will pass the health reform bill by March 18, so the rest of the process can move swiftly.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is now tasked with trying to corral votes in the House, while trying to assure those who are wary that the Senate will be willing to support the same measures. Some House members are worried about being left “holding the bag,” if the Senate decides it will not support some of the same legislative language.

In order to ensure the Democrats have enough votes, President Obama invited two groups of the Democratic Caucus to the White House on March 4 to continue to push for health reform passage.  Members from the Congressional Progressive Caucus were:
Caucus Chairs Raúl Grijalva (AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (CA), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Mike Honda (CA), Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (CA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (NY), Reps. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) and Jan Schakowsky (IL), as well as delegates Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) and Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands).

Afterward, Obama met with key members of the New Democrat Coalition.   The New Democrats, like the Blue Dogs, are a group of fiscally conservative Democrats.  Attendees of this meeting included:  Reps. Jason Altmire (PA), Melissa Bean (IL), Lois Capps (CA), Joe Crowley (NY), Ron Kind (WI), Allyson Schwartz (PA) and Adam Smith (WA).

Overview: Extension of Physician Payment “Fix” and COBRA Provisions
On March 2, the Senate passed H.R. 4691, the “Temporary Extensions Act of 2010″ and President Obama signed it into law.  This legislation includes a one-month extension of the Medicare physician payment “fix,” premium assistance for unemployed workers with COBRA and state continuation coverage, unemployment insurance and several other legislative provisions that expired on February 28.  Before voting on passage of the bill, the Senate first voted on an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) that would have offset the billion cost of the “extenders” package.  This amendment was defeated and therefore no further legislative action was needed.  The bill was later signed by the President.

Overview:  The “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act” – H.R. 4626
In a letter dated March 3, 22 Democratic Senators wrote to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging him to bring H.R. 4626, the “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to the Senate floor at its earliest opportunity.  In the letter they state that “[this legislation] is an important step toward bringing competition to the health insurance market, and would ensure that anticompetitive abuses such as price fixing and monopolization are policed in the health insurance industry.”  America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) CEO Karen Ignagni maintains the position on the legislation saying, “The rhetoric surrounding repeal [anti-trust exemptions] does not match the reality of the situation.  Health insurance is one of the most regulated industries in America at both the federal and the state levels. The Act is extremely limited in scope and has nothing to do with competition within the health insurance industry.  In fact, a wide range of insurer activities, including mergers and many types of business practices, are and always have been subject to federal antitrust laws and to enforcement by the Department of Justice.”

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