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Finance Committee Approves Health Care Reform Legislation; Legislature Moves Toward Floor Debates

After receiving the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO's) score on October 7, the Senate Finance Committee approved the amended America’s Health Future Act of 2009 on October 13 in a 14–9 vote. Senator Olympia Snowe (R–ME) joined the committee Democrats in voting for the bill; however, Senator Snowe emphasized that she was not entirely satisfied with the current bill and that she could not guarantee voting for the bill on the Senate floor after it is merged with the more liberal Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee bill. In the House, the CBO preliminarily scored two of the three versions of health care reform legislation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) sent for review, estimating that they would cost $859 billion and $905 billion over a decade.

Congress Passes Bill Allowing Advance VA Health Care Appropriations

On October 14, Congress passed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (HR 1016) authorizing Congress to appropriate funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA's) medical programs 1 year in advance of each fiscal year. In 19 of the past 22 years, Congress approved the VA budget late, forcing the VA to operate on the previous year’s budget, which often lacked funding for new programs slated for inclusion in the new budget (Financing News Pulse, June 29 edition). The legislation now awaits President Obama’s signature.

SAMHSA Awards $38.2 Million To Expand Drug Courts

On October 2, SAMHSA announced 44 grants totaling $38.2 million over 3 years to expand or enhance substance abuse treatment services in drug courts. The courts will receive up to $300,000 annually for up to 3 years.

SAMHSA Releases TEDS Report on Criminal Justice System Referrals to Substance Abuse Treatment

SAMHSA released the latest Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report, finding that the criminal justice system was the single largest source of referrals to substance abuse treatment, accounting for 37 percent of admissions. The report found that criminal justice system referral admissions were less likely than all other referral admissions to drop out of treatment (22 vs. 27 percent). In addition, the most rapid area of growth within criminal justice system referrals has been among those younger than 18 years of age, increasing from 38 percent of adolescent admissions in 1992 to 47 percent in 2007.

AHIP Releases Report Outlining Potential Effects of Health Care Reform and Meets Significant Resistance

A report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and released by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) October 12, estimates that the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform legislation could add $1,700 to family health insurance premiums by 2013 and could raise family premiums by more than $4,000 by 2019. White House officials, Congressional Democrats, and health care reform advocates have refuted the report. In addition, numerous nonpartisan policy analysts and PWC’s official statement note that the analysis considered only a limited number of the legislation’s provisions rather than examining the legislation as a single entity.

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