LSA Washington – March 2, 2010
A regular publication from the LSA Public Policy Office
New Senate Jobs Bill Introduced; FMAP Extension and Other Key Provisions Included
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Monday introduced new jobs legislation, the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act. The bill includes a six-month extension of an enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Program, for which LSA has been advocating for several months. Also included in the legislation are:
- Reinstatement of tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes
- Extended period for single-employer defined benefit plans to amortize certain shortfall amortization bases
- Extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA provisions
- Extension of enhanced payment for mental health services from the Medicare Improvements for
Patients and Providers Act of 2008
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation later this week. Currently Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) is objecting to passing legislation addressing the extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits by unanimous consent, requiring the Senate to hold 30 hours of debate before voting. LSA will be closely monitoring this legislation; keep up by following on our Twitter page.
Movement on Health Care Reform Anticipated this Week
In a speech planned for Wednesday, President Obama is expected to outline his updated health care reform proposal as well as a plan for ushering health care reform legislation through the House and Senate in the coming weeks. The President sent a letter to House and Senate leadership Tuesday outlining four Republican proposals he seeks to include in final health care reform legislation in addition to the changes outlined in his 11-page proposal released last week:
- engage medical professionals to conduct random undercover investigations of health care providers to uncover fraud;
- appropriate $50 million for additional grants to states for demonstrations on alternatives to resolving medical malpractice disputes;
- increase physician reimbursement under Medicaid;
- clarify that high-deductible health plans could be offered in the exchange, which could in turn encourage more people to take advantage of Health Savings Accounts.
Action on moving health care reform legislation through the House and Senate may happen as soon as the end of this week. While specifics of the process are still under wraps, what is anticipated is that the House will take up the bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve along with a "sidecar" of changes to the bill, with the Senate then taking up those changes through a reconciliation process that would require a majority vote for passage.
Frequent updates on health care reform will be posted on the LSA and LSA-DN Twitter sites. For more information, please contact Lisa Hassenstab, Director of Advocacy and Policy at lhassenstab@lutheranservices.org or Meg Cooch, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the LSA Disability Network at mcooch@lutheranservices.org.
Congress Home in Early April; Invite Your Legislators to Your Site
Spring is on its way, and members of Congress will be headed to their home districts from March 29 to April 9 for their spring district work period. Now is a great time to invite your members of Congress to visit your programs and learn more about the work of your organization. A primer on hosting a site visit can be found on the LSA website.
The March LSA policy and advocacy conference call on Thursday, March 18, at 2:00 PM ET will focus on hosting a successful site visit with your elected officials. If your organization has hosted an elected official for a site visit and you'd like to share your tips on the call, please contact Lisa Hassenstab. To RSVP for the call, please email advocacy@lutheranservices.org.
Registration for 2010 LSA Annual Conference Now Open
We hope you'll join LSA staff and colleagues from Lutheran health and human service organizations across the country in Sacramento for LSA's 2010 Annual Conference April 26-28. Registration is now open and can be accessed online. Our theme this year is "Abundant Life Together," with a keynote speaker and breakout sessions that reflect that theme. Questions about the conference? Please contact Adenike Akintilo, Event and Meeting Manager, at aakintilo@lutheranservices.org or 410-230-3551.
