Topics this week:
1. Elements of the Affordable Care Act to be delayed
2. Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin Supreme Court Ruling
3. Key House subcommittee advances permanent 'doc fix'
4. Senate panel boosts NIH and health professions funding
5. New regulations on snack food in schools
1. Elements of the Affordable Care Act to be delayed
2. Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin Supreme Court Ruling
3. Key House subcommittee advances permanent 'doc fix'
4. Senate panel boosts NIH and health professions funding
5. New regulations on snack food in schools
1. Obama administration delays implementing the employer mandate and the House votes to delay the individual and employer mandate
On July 2nd the White House announced that there would be a one year delay in imposing penalties on employers with 50 or more employees who do not provide all full time employees with health insurance. The one year delay from 2014 to 2015 gives businesses more time to make the changes and came amid concerns that mandating coverage will slow job growth or cause employers to switch employees from full time, when coverage is mandated, to part time, when no health insurance is required. On July 17th further delays in implementing the Affordable Care Act were threatened when the House ignored a White House veto threat and passed bills that delay until 2015 both the individual mandate that imposes penalties for those who do not possess health insurance as well as the aforementioned employer mandate.
Sources:
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/311799-overnight-health
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/07/02/198131634/u-s-pushes-businesses-health-insurance-deadline-to-2015
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2. Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin Supreme Court Ruling
On July 22nd, the Supreme Court voted 7 to 1 to send the University of Texas’s race-conscious admissions plan back for further judicial view. “Strict scrutiny imposes on the university the ultimate burden of demonstrating, before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote. The University of Texas at Austin admits about 75% of its freshman based on graduation rankings from Texas high schools. Because many of the state’s high schools are dominated by one race or ethnicity, it has created a diverse applicant pool. For the remaining slots, it uses a holistic evaluation of applicants that includes race as one of many factors. It is important to note what the ruling did not do, that is, forbid the consideration of race in college admissions.
Sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-sends-texas-affirmative-action-plan-back-for-further-review/2013/06/24/62707a22-dcde-11e2-9218-bc2ac7cd44e2_story_1.html
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/24/us/24scotus-affirmative-action-decision-doc.html?_r=0
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3. Key House subcommittee advances permanent 'doc fix'
On July 23, a key House subcommittee approved a proposal to repeal Medicare’s payment formula and replace it with a system that rewards doctors for high-quality care. The bill would create options for doctors to be paid based on the quality of care rather than the volume of services they provide. This strategy is to lower healthcare costs over time. Doctors who remain in the traditional “fee for service” model would see a permanent 5 percent pay cut under the bill. Health subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) praised his panel for its progress. “The draft we approved today places us on a path to paying for innovation and quality, not volume of services, and puts doctors not bureaucrats, back in the charge of medicine.”
Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/312939-key-house-subcommittee-advances-permanent-doc-fix-
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4. Senate Panel Boosts NIH, Health Professions Funding
July 12 2013- The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill of $164.3 billion that restores funding for medical research and health professions training to pre-sequestration levels. The committee defeated an amendment to take a proposed $1.35 billion increase to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for implementations of health insurance exchanges and transfer it to NIH. The bill also expands the requirement to provide access to the tax payer funded research beyond NIH to other federal agencies funded in the bill.
Source:
https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh/highlights2013/349254/senatepanelboostsnihhealthprofessionsfunding.html
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5. School vending machines banned from the sale of any snacks deemed unhealthy
On June 27th the Department of Agriculture effectively banned the sale of candy, cookies, and sugary drinks in schools by banning the sale of these products in vending machines on school grounds. Though school cafeterias had been banned from selling these products for the past few years, the restrictions have now been extended in the hopes of preventing students from circumventing new healthier school lunches by reverting to snack machines. The new rules will be in effect when schools open in the fall of 2014, and proponents of the restrictions hope that by reinforcing healthy eating earlier students will grow into nutrition-conscious adults. Snack foods that are deemed healthy may still be sold, including whole wheat crackers, granola bars, and dried fruits.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/business/us-takes-aim-on-snacks-offered-for-sale-in-schools.html?ref=health
Your Legislative Affairs Team:
Alexandra Printz – National Delegate
Arindam Sarkar – Southern Region
Christos Theophanous – Western Region
Michael Hunter – Northeast Region
Rob Klemisch – Central Region
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https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/communications/legislative_affairs/
For more Health Care Policy news go to:
https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/communications/legislative_affairs/49198/legislative_affairs_resources.html