Washington Round-Up
January 31, 1998
Sense of the Senate
Yesterday, Senate
Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chairman of the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, introduced
a resolution seeking an increase of $2 billion, or a $14.65
% increase, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in
FY 1999. The resolution also calls for the budget resolution
to "appropriately reflect sufficient funds to achieve
this objective." Original co-sponsors include Senators
Tom Harkin (D-IA), Bill Frist (R-TN), Olympia Snowe (R-ME),
Harry Reid (D-NV), Mike DeWine (R-OH), and Alphonse D'Amato
(R-NY).
HCFA Needs More Money According
to GAO
Yesterday, in testimony
presented to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee,
the General
Accounting Office (GAO) testified that the Health Care Financing
Administration (HCFA) "may not have adequate resources
to fulfill the requirements imposed by last year's budget reconciliation
law." HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann Min DeParle explained
that the agency would face many new demands with limited finances
and resources available to them. She explained that "we
are managing now, but we're just managing. We have some very
serious work ahead of us." The Balanced Budget Act of
1997 contained over 300 programmatic changes/mandates to Medicare
and Medicaid, including a prospective payment system for outpatient
services and home health.
Thomas Announces New Executive
Director of Medicare Panel
Congressman Bill
Thomas (R-CA), on Wednesday, January 28, 1998, announced that
Bobby P. Jundal,
the Louisiana Secretary of Health and Hospitals, will be executive
director of the newly formed National Bipartisan Commission
on the Future of Medicare. The 17-member panel was created
to "identify problems that threaten the financial integrity
of the 32 year old federal entitlement program and suggest
solutions." The panel's findings are due by March 1, 1999.
This Commission will probably have an interest in the IoM study
regarding Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs.
Sponsoring a Congressional
Tour
In 1998, the ASTP Public Policy
Committee will be encouraging all ASTP members to invite their
Members of Congress to visit their medical facilities. In order
to find out more about how to invite your Member of Congress
to tour your medical facility, please check out the new public
policy web page at www.astp.org.
Given the number of congressional recesses this year, there
will be plenty of opportunities to sponsor a congressional
tour!
Witness Testimony Available
on the Web
On Wednesday, January 28, 1998,
Dr. John F. Neylan, ASTP President-Elect, testified before
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education. Dr. Neylan's testimony can be
found on the web at www.astp.org under
the Public Policy's library section.
Policy's library section.
Hearing Schedule for House Appropriations
Labor, HHS, and Education Subcommittee
To follow is the schedule for Administration
officials to testify before Chairman John Porter's (R-IL) Subcommittee
in the coming weeks:
Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Donna Shalala
March 3rd: Health Resources
and Services Administration, Dr. Claude E. Fox, Acting Director
March 4th: Health Care
Financing Administration, Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Administrator
March 4th: Agency for
Health Care Policy and Research, John M. Eisenberg, Administrator
March 4th: Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, David Satcher, MD, PhD, Director
March 5th: National Institutes
of Health, Harold Varmus, M.D., Director
March 10th: National Institute of
Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Phillip Gorden, M.D.,
Director
March 11th: National
Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Claude Lenfant, M.D.
March 12th: National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci,
M.D., Director
March 18th
