CQ's Carey Discusses Bush Administration Medicare Proposals, Senate Action To Block Medicaid Rule, House Scrutiny Of FDA Drug Approval Process

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
Article Date: 20 Feb 2008 - 11:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines the Bush administration's Medicare proposals, Senate action to block a new Medicaid rule and a House panel's scrutiny of FDA's drug approval process in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

According to Carey, the Bush administration on Monday submitted a measure to Congress to reduce Medicare spending by increasing prescription drug plan premiums for higher-income beneficiaries and by increasing the use of health information technology, such as electronic health records, among other provisions. Under a provision of the 2003 Medicare law, the administration was required to submit legislation to reduce program spending or increase revenue after Medicare trustees last year triggered a funding warning. The warning is issued when trustees for two consecutive years predict that federal general fund revenue must be used to pay for 45% or more of total Medicare costs within seven years.

Carey also says that the Senate recently voted to block a new Medicaid regulation that would have limited payments for targeted case management services. The rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on March 3, would have limited reimbursement for ancillary services, such as helping beneficiaries find jobs or housing. The provision was aimed at curbing abuses of those services that were uncovered by HHS Inspector General and Government Accountability Office audits. The measure was added to legislation that would reauthorize the Indian Health Service, and Carey says that the Senate is expected to take final action on the IHS reauthorization bill after the Presidents Day recess.

Lastly, Carey discusses a recent House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the panel's investigation into the handling of fraudulent data submitted to FDA to gain approval of the antibiotic Ketek. According to Carey, the investigation has "cast doubt on the integrity of the agency's drug approval process." According to Carey, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chair of the subcommittee, have threatened to hold HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in contempt for refusing to turn over a briefing book that was used to prepare FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach for the drug's safety hearing (Carey, "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ," 2/19).

The complete audio version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.org.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.