Health Care Reform Policy Issues
March 2009 Update
The Health Care Reform Issue Team was formed as a replacement for the Access Issue Team. This was done by GRAG members to cover the wide range of issues that will now fall under the broader umbrella of health reform during the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress. This team will also contain a Subcommittee on Comparative Effectiveness, an important part of health care reform.
The National Health Council has received from our consultants, Avalere Health and United Biosource (UBS), an analysis of current legislation and bills introduced on this issue, as well as proposals for legislative changes to benefit patients. The Health Care Reform Issue Team used these materials to educate our members on several areas that will be part of any overall reform plan. One of these areas, comparative effectiveness research, was a significant part of the stimulus legislation. By using the values reached by the Comparative Effectiveness Subcommittee, the Council was able to submit several letters and legislative language (enclosed) to the relevant committees as the bill moved through Congress. The final bill contained report language very similar to the language used by the Council and is also enclosed.
As one of the first acts of the 111th Congress, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was reauthorized. This bill, vetoed in 2008 by President Bush, would allow for health coverage of nearly 10 million additional children by increasing the tax on tobacco products. The Issue Team and the Council supported the legislation with a letter to members of Congress which is enclosed.
NHC President Myrl Weinberg and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Marc Boutin met with the transition team to discuss the future of the National Institutes of Health. The National Health Council, along with several of our members, submitted detailed comments to the Obama transition team. The NHC comments are enclosed. Myrl also gave a presentation to the Obama transition team regarding the FDA. Myrl was part of an IOM committee which produced a report proposing changes to the structure of Health and Human Services, and authored a dissenting opinion on comparative effectiveness research (enclosed) which was included in that report. In addition, she was a member of the FasterCures task force that called for a new mission and focus for the Intramural Research Program at the NIH.
The Health Care Reform Issue Team will continue to monitor and take action on legislative reform proposals in the new Congress and proposals by the Administration that will impact patients with chronic diseases and disabilities. A list of coalitions and individual organizations that are playing a significant role in the creation of legislation is enclosed.
The chair of the Health Care Reform Issue Team is Angela Ostrom of the Epilepsy Foundation. The new chair of the comparative effectiveness research subgroup is Charlotte Collins of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation.
Staff contact: Kevin Cain, Assistant Vice President, Government Affairs and Programs
