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Democrats To Add Provision Eliminating Health Insurers’ Antitrust Exemption to Health Reform; House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill

The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation (HR 3596) on October 21 that would curb health insurers’ exemption from Federal antitrust laws. After securing passage in the House Rules Committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) said that she will merge the bill into the broader health care reform package for consideration on the House floor. Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) announced plans to include the Senate’s companion bill (SB 1681), which completely repeals the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act exempting health insurers from antitrust laws, as part of the Senate’s health care reform bill.

Senate Blocks Action on Unfunded Medicare “Doctor Fix”

In a roll call vote on October 21, the Senate blocked progress on SB 1776, which would authorize $247 billion in additional Medicare payments to physicians over a decade, permanently altering Medicare’s physician reimbursement rates without offsetting the expense, and therefore adding to the Federal deficit. The current reimbursement formula, passed in 1997, has required congressional “fixes” to avoid substantial physician reimbursement cuts and, if left unchanged, would require a 21-percent physician payment rate cut in 2010. Thirteen Democrats and independents joined all 40 Senate Republicans in opposing the measure, which required 60 votes to advance. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) signaled his intention to pursue a shorter-term fix while continuing to keep the issue separate from broader health care reform legislation.

President Obama Signs VA Health Care Bill

President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (HR 1016), approved by Congress October 14, authorizing Congress to appropriate funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) medical programs 1 year in advance of each fiscal year. In 19 of the past 22 years, Congress has 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.

CDC Report Finds Drug Deaths Outnumber Traffic Deaths in 16 States

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found that drug-related deaths outnumber traffic fatalities in 16 states, highlighting the increasing safety of car travel and the increasing abuse of prescription medications. Nationally, CDC recorded approximately 45,000 traffic-related deaths and 39,000 drug-related deaths. The 16 states are Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington.

NCQA Report Finds Health Care Quality Stagnant; M/SU Treatment Quality Low

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released its annual state of health care quality report on October 22, finding that overall health care quality in America—including private and public coverage—has been virtually stagnant since 2008. Previous NCQA reports had found health care quality had improved significantly every year for the past 12 years, and NCQA attributes the reversal to the economy and the fee-for-service payment model. In addition to the overall trends, the NCQA report notes that the percentage of patients receiving quality care for many conditions, including for mental health and substance use (M/SU) conditions, remained under 50 percent while some M/SU conditions displayed quality reductions.

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