The importance of health care was clear as countless people were turned away from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on dual eligible beneficiaries and the Senate Finance Committee hearing on health care entitlements – whose committee rooms were packed to capacity. Thanks to the internet, and live streams provided on committee websites, no one had to miss a minute of these important discussions.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held their hearing on Tuesday of this week to discuss dual eligible beneficiaries. Dual eligible beneficiaries are people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. The subcommittee called two panels to present information and answer questions around this topic. The first panel was centered on Melanie Bella – who is the director of the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Bella presented the need for coordinated care for the duals population and outlined the work her office has been undertaking to better coordinate care for duals. Answering many questions of when her office will release a report – we can look forward to one in early 2012. The second panel brought together representatives from Texas’ Health and Human Services, the Alzheimer’s Association, the National PACE Foundation, and from Community Care of North Carolina. These witnesses gave testimony on the innovative programs that are available and working currently to care for duals. All of the witnesses stressed the importance of coordinating the care of dual eligible beneficiaries as we move forward with delivery system reform.
The line that formed for entry into the Senate Finance hearing on health care entitlements took over the entire corridor of the second floor of the Dirksen Senate office building. Kindles, iPhones, Blackberries, and books kept those in line occupied while waiting for staffers to open the hearing room doors. Only a small fraction of the crowd that amassed was granted entry to the regally outfitted Senate Finance Committee hearing room – the rest were instructed to catch the live stream online. Governor Deval Patrick (Mass.), former Governor Ernest Lee Fletcher (KY), Bruce Vladek (former Administrator of HCFA), and Douglas Holt-Eakin, PhD (former CBO Director) were called as witnesses to discuss Medicare and Medicaid in the context of the current federal budget/deficit crisis. Committee Chair, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), stated that it was important to find common ground on the problems of Medicare and Medicaid if we are to find solutions for the future. There was little consensus on how to move forward on these issues. There was a strong partisan slant to the testimony, questions posed, and answers given. Those more right-leaning – Senators and witnesses led by Ranking Member Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) – urged giving states more flexibility to apply creative and innovative solutions as they see fit for their state’s needs. Those on the other side of the aisle urged that there was adequate flexibility for states in current law. Also, they highlighted the importance of viewing the issue of the future of Medicare and Medicaid as a “people” problem, not to just look at it with a policy lens – that there are millions of vulnerable and poor people who rely on the safety net these programs provide.
What does this all mean? Where do we go from here? These issues are of obvious importance – but how they will be solved is still unclear. With the “Biden working group” possibly falling apart today – what comes next is even harder to predict. Stay tuned…
NAPH is currently hosting its Annual Conference in Chicago where these issues are – without a doubt – being discussed. If you couldn’t join us in person, make sure to stream sessions from the conference live online!