ASPH's policies and positions are determined by the ASPH Legislative Committee, chaired by Dean Gary Raskob of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Public Health and comprised of deans of schools of public health.
This webpage provides information on ASPH advocacy efforts.
ASPH Goverment Affairs Legislative and Policy Update (November 2010) |
Highlights:
- The November 2nd election, as anticipated, has resulted in massive changes in the structure of Congress and the membership of committees of importance to ASPH. The most significant changes occur as a result of the election of a Republican majority in the House (tentatively 239 Rs; 196 Ds) The Senate remains in Democratic control but with a dramatically reduced majority (53 Ds; 47 Rs). These results presage a dramatically altered balance of power in Washington with unknown ramifications for the ASPH advocacy program. Clearly, the 112th Congress will convene with a much more conservative fiscal agenda and skepticism about the new health reform law. Leadership of key Committees and Subcommittees will change over the next several weeks with much uncertainty about who will be in charge on Jan. 4, 2011. A full report on the impact of the election will be presented at the meeting of the Legislative Committee in Denver on November 7th.
- Congress will reconvene on November 15th (under its pre-election Democratic majority) with a key goal of finishing up the annual appropriations bills before adjourning for the year. As previously noted, this sets up a classic “end-game” situation in which it is hoped that all spending bills will be wrapped up in a giant Omnibus Appropriations Act after the election. Before leaving for campaigns in late September, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution funding the federal government at the FY 2010 levels through December 3rd.
- Appropriations Committee staff have been negotiating during the Congressional recess with the goal of having a completed proposal for the Omnibus funding bill by November 8th. Top line spending levels have been set below both current House and Senate levels. This will create downward pressure on negotiations for individual program levels. Dean Raskob met with key Appropriations Committee staff regarding ASPH priorities on October 18th.
- The potential to reach and enact a final spending agreement as part of an end of year Omnibus bill is, however, very much in doubt due to the increased emphasis on deficit reduction and the outcome of the election.
- Meetings with senior OMB officials on October 26th confirmed the likelihood of a FY 2012 President’s budget with very serious retrenchment proposals. The goal of cutting every major non security related cabinet department budget by 5 percent continues to be the direction of negotiations within the Obama Administration.
- There is increasing concern about the impact on research opportunities for NIH grantees in FY 2011. Success rates for both new and competing grants could decline into the mid-low teens and new and continuing grants may suffer across the board cuts (euphemistically called downward negotiations). Under a worst case scenario, ASPH schools could lose as much as $50-70 million. This topic will be discussed in more detail during the annual meeting.
- CDC Director Tom Frieden called President Spencer to alert ASPH to a potential change in the way the agency will fund its research programs in the future with indications that they may be shifting to more outcome-oriented, short-term projects using the “task order” mechanism. No further details are available but Dr. Harold Jaffee, Associate Director for Science at the CDC, will attend the all deans’ sessions on November 8th in Denver to discuss this change.
Health Reform Update: Additional Provisions Become Effective (September 23, 2010) |
On Thursday, September 23, 2010, four major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) went into effect: Adult Dependent Coverage Extended to Age 26; New Consumer Protections in Private Insurance; Insurance Plan Appeals; and Coverage of Preventive Benefits. Summaries of each provision can be found below:
- Adult Dependent Coverage Extended to Age 26
Section 2714 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows dependent adult children to remain on the health insurance plan of their parents up to the age of 26. In order for this to happen, the health insurance plan already in place must allow for dependent coverage. It does not matter, however, if the coverage is the result of an individual or group plan. The only exception to this provision occurs when the parent is on a job-based plan and the child is able to obtain their own job-based coverage, in which case he/she will no longer be eligible for this extension. Read more at: Kaiser Family Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Healthcare.gov.
New Consumer Protections in Private Insurance Section 2711 of the PPACA prevents insurance companies that provide group or individual health insurance plans from establishing lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant. In addition, any unreasonable annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant cannot be established. The phrase "unreasonable limits" will be determined in accordance with the section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In addition to these immediate changes, the PPACA will also eliminate annual limits in 2014.
Section 2712 of the PPACA prohibits health insurance providers of both individual and group plans from rescinding coverage from an enrollee once that coverage has begun. This will keep health insurance providers from dropping enrollees from coverage if they become ill or injured. There is a major exception to this provision, and that is that coverage may be rescinded if the enrollee has committed fraud, and prior notice is given before the coverage is rescinded.
Section 2704 of the PPACA prohibits health insurance providers of both individual and group plans from denying medical coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions to children under the age of 19. [more]
Insurance Plan Appeals Section 2719 of the PPACA requires health insurance providers to implement an effective internal appeals process for participants. These new regulations will give participants the right to appeal both claims denials and rescissions made by their health insurance providers. In addition, new health insurance plans must establish an external review process. Health insurance providers must also provide enrollees notice of the internal and external appeals processes, as well as any applicable consumer assistance programs that may be available to them. [more]
Coverage of Preventive Benefits Section 2713 of the PPACA requires that health insurance providers, whether for a group or individual plan, provide coverage for certain preventive health services. In addition, health insurance providers will not be allowed to impose any cost-sharing requirements on the enrollee for these preventive services. These provisions apply to people enrolled in job-related health plans or individual health policies created after March 23, 2010.
The preventive health services covered in this provision are the following: Evidence-based services that have been given a grade of A or B in the current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Routine immunizations that have the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC; Preventive care and screenings for infants, children, and adolescents provided for in the guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration; and Preventive care and screenings for women provided for in the guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. [more]
Updates on key legislative issues and activities provided by ASPH lobbyists, Cornerstone Government Affairs.
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