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From the Desk of Don Gehring November 20, 2009 Federal Highlights:
The Senate will convene most likely Saturday for a procedural vote required to start debate. All 40 Republicans in the Senate are expected to block the legislation from advancing, necessitating that all 60 Democrats vote in favor of cloture. On the House side, last Friday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a cost analysis of HR 3962, stating that the estimated financial impact of “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” would have a cost increase of $289 billion over the years 2010 to 2019. Additionally, the report predicted that the legislation would expand Medicaid eligibility to over 60% of the uninsured and cut Medicare by approximately $571 billion. For a comparison on key differences between the House and Senate healthcare plans, please go here. Medicare Physician Reimbursement. Late Thursday, the House voted to pass HR 3961, the “Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009.” The bill eliminates the 21.2% reduction in Medicare physician payments that was scheduled to take place on January 1, 2010 and also blocks a cumulative 40% cut over the next six years. The bill permanently replaces the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula with a more stable system. Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017053163#ixzz0XPNeQSMK On the Hill. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force came out with recommendations on Monday concerning breast cancer screening. The task force, an independent, government-appointed panel, also recommended:
On Wednesday, Senator Robert Byrd became the longest-serving Member of Congress in history, having served in the House from 1953 to 1959 and the Senate from 1959 to the present, for a total of 56 years. State Highlights: House Leadership Update. Over the weekend, members of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic and Republican caucuses elected leadership for the 2010 General Assembly session. On the Democratic side, Ward Armstrong will remain House minority leader and Ken Plum was elected caucus chairman with Jennifer McClellan as first vice chairwoman. The Republican Caucus re-elected William Howell as Speaker of the House, which will need to be voted on by the full House of Delegates during the General Assembly in January. Additionally, the Republicans voted to keep Sam Nixon as caucus chair and Kirk Cox as majority whip. In other news, Delegate Phil Hamilton, who was defeated in the November election by Democrat Robin Abbott, resigned his seat on Monday. The seat will remain vacant until Abbott is sworn into the House in January. House Appropriations Committee. The House Appropriations Committee convened this week for its annual two day retreat, affording state lawmakers the opportunity to explore a variety of issues, many of which inevitably will be addressed during the 2010 General Assembly Session. The primary focus was on the budgetary outlook of the Commonwealth, but additional presentations of interest included a review and comparison of state retirement systems and the impact of healthcare reform on providers and states. The state retirement presentations can be seen here and here; and the healthcare reform presentations can be seen here and here. Senate Finance Committee. The Senate Finance Committee also held its annual two day retreat this week. Like the House Appropriations Committee, the primary focus was on the budget and revenue outlook. Additional presentations of interest included an update on state employee compensation, health and human resources and higher education issues. Mandated Health Benefits. The Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits met on Tuesday to decide whether to recommend to the General Assembly HB 2191, a bill that would mandate that health insurance companies reimburse for telemedicine. The Commission decided to delay a recommendation and to study this issue over the next year. Appointment. John Duval, CEO of MCV Hospitals, was appointed chairman-elect of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday recess, the next edition of the legislative highlights is scheduled for Friday, December 4th. To be added to the weekly legislative highlights email distribution list, please send an email to govrel@vcu.edu.
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