LSA Washington – June 22, 2009
A regular publication from the LSA Public Policy Office
Action Needed: Contact Congress to Oppose Cuts to the Medicare Program
Congress is considering freezing Medicare reimbursements to skilled nursing facilities and home health care providers in 2010 in order to help pay for health care reform. Although the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has found that nursing facilities in general have healthy margins in their Medicare reimbursement, MedPAC findings have also shown that the denial of the 2010 payment update would be harmful for facilities already facing significant challenges. MedPAC has reported that nonprofit nursing homes receive low to zero margins in Medicare reimbursement. Denying the 2010 payment update would result in many nonprofit organizations operating at a deficit. Cuts to home health care would discourage nonprofits from providing this service at the same time that home and community based services are in greater demand and are often preferable to institutional care for many consumers.
LSA is joining with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) in advocating on this important issue. You are encouraged to contact your Senators and Representatives by going to www.aahsa.org and clicking on Contact Congress. Please e-mail Lisa Carr with a brief note about who you contacted on this issue.
--Lisa Carr
House Committees Release Health Care Reform Legislation, CBO Score Slows Senate Progress
The three committees with jurisdiction over health care reform in the House of Representatives have joined together in writing legislation to reform health care. The legislation was released late last week and is more generous towards consumers and people with low incomes than the Senate plans. The legislation includes a public plan similar to Medicare that would compete with private companies in a national health insurance exchange. The plan includes a subsidy for people purchasing insurance and would phase out at 400 percent of poverty level, approximately $88,000 for a family of four. Medicaid eligibility would be expanded to 133 percent of the poverty level with the federal government paying for the expansion, not the states. The bill will eliminate the “doughnut hole” in the Medicare prescription drug plan with this provision paid for by rebates from prescription drug companies. The plan includes prevention, wellness, training for the health care workforce and funding for community health centers.
The legislation would be paid for by an eight percent payroll tax on employers that do not provide health insurance to their employees and a new two percent tax on individuals who do not purchase health insurance. Cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs are also expected to help pay for the plan but the details are not yet available. The House legislation is expected to cost over $1 trillion over ten years and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is in the process of scoring the legislation.
CBO scored the Senate Finance and HELP Committee health care plans last week, and with the plans not yet complete, the Finance Committee plan totaled $1.5 trillion and the HELP plan totaled over $1 trillion. The merged plans total over $2.5 trillion, which is not financially sustainable. The Finance Committee is currently considering paring back its proposal.
This week the Senate HELP Committee is marking up their bill and the House Committees are holding hearings. Following the July 4 congressional district work period, the House will mark up legislation and the Senate Finance Committee will do the same. Congress and the Administration have agreed that they would like to pass health care reform out of Congress by the August recess, which is scheduled to start on August 10. With the new budget numbers from CBO, there is concern that these dates will slip. The President would like to sign health care reform into law in October.
-- Lisa Carr
National Housing Trust Fund Update Call on Friday, June 26
Join Sheila Crowley of the National Low Income Housing Coalition on Friday, June 26, at 1:00 pm ET to learn more about the budget situation for the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) in FY2010, get talking points for speaking to your Representatives and Senators about the NHTF and hear an update on the status of NHTF regulations.
To join the call, dial 1-877-486-3171, passcode 96717. If you have questions before or during the call, please e-mail them to outreach@nlihc.org.
--Lisa Hassenstab
United We Serve Initiative Announced
On June 17 President Obama announced a new summer service initiative, United We Serve. Kicking off June 22, the initiative encourages Americans to participate in the reinvestment and recovery of their communities through volunteering. It will culminate in the new National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11.
For more information, including the opportunity to post volunteer opportunities for your organization and share your organization's volunteer stories, please visit www.serve.gov. LSA would also like to know more about your volunteer stories and engagement with this and other volunteer initiatives; please e-mail us and let us know what you're up to!
--Lisa Hassenstab
Sign the Petition to End Waiting Lists for People with Developmental Disabilities
As health care reform progresses in Washington, D.C., LSA-DN continues to support efforts to end waiting lists for people with developmental disabilities to receive Medicaid funded home and community based services and supports. The National Organization to End the Waitlists (Noewait), a grassroots organization that advocates for the elimination of these waiting lists, has started an online petition requesting that Congress and the Administration end waiting lists as part of health care reform. To show your support for people with developmental disabilities, please read and sign the petition. The petition and other information about waiting lists are available on LSA-DN's e-advocacy website, www.lsadnadvocacy.org.
The Senate Finance Committee's health care reform policy options paper concerning coverage included proposals that would increase access to Medicaid funded home and community based services and supports. At this time, however, the status of these options is not clear as the committee is continuing to refine the actual legislative language prior to its official release. To learn more about LSA-DN's public policy priorities for health care reform and the latest legislative activity in Washington, D.C., please register for the LSA-DN public policy update conference call on June 25 at 3:00 pm ET. For continuous updates on LSA-DN's priorities, please sign up for LSA-DN's e-advocacy website, www.lsadnadvocacy.org.
--Heather Ansley
LSA Public Policy Advocacy Conference Calls for July and August
Thursday, July 16, 2:00 pm ET- Update on Health Care Reform: Health care reform legislation is expected to move quickly through Congress this summer. Join us to hear the latest. To RSVP for this call, please e-mail the LSA DC office with "Health Care" as the subject.
Thursday, August 20, 2:00 pm ET- What to Expect on Capitol Hill For the Remainder of 2009: Capitol Hill is expected to be a very busy place over the summer and through the fall. Join us to get caught up on the legislative session and to learn more about what is expected to be on Congress' plate after the August recess. To RSVP for this call, please e-mail the LSA DC office with "What to Expect" as the subject.
