Congress Moves to Finish Health Reform in Coming Weeks - March 17, 2010

While the process remains fluid, Congress is moving to finalize health reform legislation in the next few weeks. Democrats intend to pass the Senate-passed health reform bill and make changes to the reform law through a budget reconciliation measure, which cannot be filibustered, requiring only a simple majority of the Senate for final passage. Last afternoon, the House Budget Committee kicked-off the process by rubber-stamping a “placeholder” reconciliation bill. Later this week, the House Rules Committee is expected to meet to insert reconciliation language that is being negotiated between the House and Senate. The Rules Committee is expected to “attach” the reconciliation bill to the health reform bill that passed the Senate in December. After that, both the Senate-passed reform bill and the reconciliation bill will be voted on by the whole House. Later, the President will sign the reform bill. Finally, the Senate will pass the reconciliation bill, to then be signed by the President, completing the complicated process.

It is not yet clear that health reform supporters in the House have the votes to pass reform, but observers believe they are close to a majority. Critical issues remain around how abortions would be paid for in the health insurance exchange and how the bill is paid for. NAPH is urging Congress to reduce the size of the Medicaid and Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment cuts in the reform bill and retain language to extend 340B drug discounts to the inpatient setting. While we do not know what the final bill will include on these issues, House and Senate leaders have indicated to NAPH that there may be some movement in our favor. It is not clear when the details of the reform bill will be unveiled, but it must happen by the time the language is inserted in the Rules Committee later this week. On February 26, the NAPH Executive Committee met by conference call and unanimously voted to support the comprehensive reform legislation moving through Congress. As NAPH President Larry S. Gage reiterated at a meeting with Speaker Pelosi during NAPH’s legislative event, we are setting aside our specific issues to support a bill that covers 31 million Americans.