House Hearing Set-up Health Care Showdown in July - Public Hospital CEO Testifies - July 1, 2009

Last week, the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees held a series of legislative hearings on the House's health care reform discussion draft bill, which was released the previous week. In all, nearly 70 witnesses testified at five hearings held during the week. Among the witnesses at the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee's hearing on June 25 was Patricia Gabow, MD, CEO of NAPH member system, Denver Health. Dr. Gabow testified on the role of safety net providers in providing coordinated care, Medicaid's vital function in health reform, and the importance of protecting Medicaid and Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding in health care reform. At that hearing and in a hearing on June 24, four members of the subcommittee: Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and Jane Harman (D-CA) each expressed their support for retaining DSH funding through health care reform, as the discussion draft does.

With these legislative hearings done, the House committees of jurisdiction plan to begin to mark-up their legislation on the week of July 13. The Senate HELP bill, which began its mark-up several weeks ago, intends to wrap up its bill-writing session once Congress returns from its one-week recess on July 7. The Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, has not yet finalized its mark. A small group of Finance Committee members, including Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Ranking Republican Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mike Enzi (R-WY) Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are negotiating details on contentious issues in an attempt to craft a bipartisan package. They hope to finish in the next few weeks and begin a mark up in mid-July.