Posts Tagged ‘Senate’
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has okayed 94 percent of requests – primarily from sponsors of “mini-med” and other limited healthcare plans – for waivers that excuse them from meeting a key requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the waivers are needed because most mini-med plans do not meet federal rules mandated by the healthcare reform law, which establishes a minimum yearly dollar limit on essential benefits that plans must provide in 2011, 2012 and 2013. For 2011, the minimum is $750,000, rising to $1.25 million in 2012 and $2 million in 2013. To date, 919 of 975 waiver applications have been approved by HHS, according to Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“We are committed to making the waiver process transparent to the public and to make sure workers with mini-med plans are informed about the limited nature of their coverage,” said Steve Larsen, director of oversight in HHS’s Office of Consumer Information and Insurance. “For example, we have required plans that receive waivers to inform their enrollees that their coverage is limited. HHS also helps to ensure transparency by posting a list of the plans that have been granted waivers, so stakeholders understand how they are affected.” To date, waivers have been granted in Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee. Members of Congress said that in several other states, insurers and employers will need similar exemptions from some of the law’s requirements.
Not surprisingly, House Republicans slammed HHS for granting the waivers, claiming that they are proof that the Affordable Care Act is deeply flawed. “I think it is an understatement to say that these waivers have been controversial,” said Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL). “Obamacare was sold as all benefit — no downside.” Plans that were granted waivers represent about 2.4 million people, or about one percent of the employer-based coverage market overall, according to HHS.
Additionally, House Republicans expressed concern that power over public and private health insurance programs was concentrated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led by an official, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, who has not been confirmed by the Senate. “He is in charge of almost all insurance coverage in the United States,” said Representative Michael Burgess, (R-TX).
Tags: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, Healthcare law waivers, healthcare reform law, HHS's Office of Consumer Information and Insurance, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House of Representatives, Kathleen Sebelius, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama, Representative Cliff Stearns, Representative Henry Waxman, Representative Michael Burgess, Republicans, Senate
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 14th, 2011
Senate Republicans are trying to block the nomination of Harvard-educated pediatrician Dr. Donald Berwick to serve a full term as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Led by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the senators contend that President Barack Obama’s recess appointment last year was completed before a hearing was held. The senators contend that this hindered the 111th Congress’ ability to fully consider Berwick’s nomination.
“This abrupt and unilateral action meant that no senator — Democrat or Republican — was given the opportunity to ask Dr. Berwick a single question before he was placed in charge of an agency with a budget larger than the Department of Defense; which controls four percent of our nation’s gross domestic product; and, most importantly, directly impacts more than 100 million American lives every single day,” according to the Senators’ letter. The senators say that Berwick’s “past record of controversial statements, and general lack of experience managing an organization as large as complex as CMS should disqualify him” from the post. “Once you have withdrawn his nomination, we are confident we can all work together to find a nominee for administrator we can support and confirm after appropriate hearings are held,” the letter stated.
Even some Congressional Democrats are urging the Obama administration to find another Medicare chief after concluding that the Senate is unlikely to confirm Dr. Berwick. The most-favored nominee is Dr. Berwick’s principal deputy, Marilyn B. Tavenner, a nurse and former Virginia secretary of health and human resources who has extensive management experience and would likely be confirmed. President Obama bypassed Congress and named Dr. Berwick to his post while the Senate was in recess last summer. The current appointment allows him to serve to the end of 2011.
Despite the vocal opposition to Dr. Berwick, President Obama is refusing to withdraw his nomination. “The president nominated Don Berwick because he’s far and away the best person for the job, and he’s already doing stellar work at CMS: saving taxpayer dollars by cracking down on fraud, and implementing delivery system reforms that will save billions in excess costs and save millions of lives,” White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said. Unfortunately for the president, even some Senate Democrats believe that Berwick cannot be confirmed. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has said that he would not commit to a confirmation hearing, and other Democrats have acknowledged that the nomination is in trouble. “I think it would be very tough in this environment. If we can get some bipartisan products moving forward, then the answer is yes. If you can’t get some bipartisan products moving forward, it’s going to be difficult,” said Senator Ben Cardin, (D-MD).
The Medicare administrator’s job involved significant responsibilities under the healthcare law, such as establishing new insurance markets, expanding Medicaid, and overhauling the way Medicare pays providers to reward quality instead of volume. Republicans need 41 votes to block Berwick’s confirmation in the full Senate; their letter indicates they have more than enough. The loss of Berwick, a respected medical innovator and patient advocate, would be a blow to the administration as it moves ahead in its implementation of the healthcare reform law.
Five Republican senators did not sign Hatch’s letter. They are Scott Brown (R-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Rob Portman (R-OH).
Tags: 111th Congress, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Democrats, Dr Donald Berwick, education, Health insurance exchanges, healthcare reform law, Labor and Pensions Committee, Marilyn B. Tavenner, Medicaid, Medicare, President Barack Obama, Recess appointment, Reid Cherlin, Republicans, Senate, Senate Finance Committee, Senate Health, Senator Ben Cardin, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Max Baucus, Senator Mike Enzi, Senator Olympia Snowe, Senator Orrin Hatch, Senator Rob Portman, Senator Scott Brown, Senator Susan Collins, White House
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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Defying the odds – and facing President Barack Obama’s veto pen – the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA); a move that was DOA in the Senate.
Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, approximately 50 percent of Americans are convinced that the healthcare law has been successfully repealed. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found widespread public confusion about the law, with 22 percent of Americans incorrectly believing it has been repealed and another 26 percent unsure or unwilling to say. Even after extensive media coverage of the repeal effort, only 52 percent of Americans accurately responded that the healthcare law remained intact. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “There remains no consensus about whether to keep, expand, replace or repeal the law. Forty-eight percent are opposed to the law, while 43 percent favor it. Sixty-one percent of those polled oppose Congress cutting off funding of the law in order to block it, as many Republican lawmakers are considering.”
The Republican-sponsored repeal bill, curiously named the “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” passed 245 – 189 with assistance from three Democrats. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has refused to bring repeal to the Senate floor for a vote. President Obama has vowed to veto any repeal effort. Republicans have not introduced an alternative bill, although Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) said Republicans will ask congressional committees to make “common-sense reforms” to expand coverage and cut costs, but told reporters no “artificial deadlines” were needed.
“As has been true since early in the debate, individual provisions of the new law are more popular than the law itself, complicating the debate over repeal,” the study notes. “So while the public in general is divided over whether to keep or repeal the legislation, if they could pick and choose, the large majority (roughly eight in 10 Americans) would keep the provisions providing tax credits to small businesses, and upward of seven in 10 would keep the provisions that close the Medicare doughnut hole, provide coverage subsidies to those of low and moderate income, institute the new voluntary long-term care insurance program known as the CLASS Act, and prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.”
According to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 32 percent of Americans would like to see the law repealed; 13 percent want to see the bill left as it stands. The poll found that 29 percent of Americans want to see minor changes and that 24 percent want major changes. Representative Ben Chandler, (D-KY), who voted against the law last year, said he voted against repeal because he thinks the law’s “bad” parts should be repealed piece by piece. “I will not vote to repeal parts of the law that protect central Kentuckians by preventing insurance companies from dropping people if they get sick, ending lifetime caps on coverage and eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions,” Chandler said.
Implementation of the law is continuing as planned, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “I want the people who are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act — including families, seniors and small business owners — to know that this vote does not change the law and that this department will continue to work every day to implement this vital law.”
Tags: "Repealing The Job-Killing Health Care Law Act", CLASS Act, Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, Healthcare law, House of Representatives, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Health News, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicare doughnut hole, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, pre-existing conditions, President Barack Obama, repeal, Representative Ben Chandler, Representative John Boehner, Republicans, Senate, Senator Harry Reid, Speaker of the House, USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, Veto
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Monday, February 14th, 2011
The Republican House of Representatives’ attempt to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was DOA — as expected — in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Voting along strict party lines, all 50 Democratic Senators who were present and one Independent gave the repeal a thumbs down. All 47 Republican Senators voted in favor of repeal. Two Senators – one a Democrat and the other an Independent – were not present to vote.
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) delivered a scornful speech during the heated debate, saying the Republicans are offering “one more hollow, symbolic pander-to-the-masses amendment. If you want to rewrite the bill, keep your promise, Republican Party, that if you want to repeal, then let’s go replace. I want to hear their ideas for replacement. I challenge them right here, right now, today on this amendment.” Not surprisingly, Republican Senate leaders disagree with Senator Mikulski’s stance. “We think it is just the beginning,” Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KR-KY) said Wednesday after the Senate voted to reject an amendment he offered to repeal the law. “This issue is still ahead of us and we will be going back at it in a variety of ways,” McConnell noted. “We’ll be looking at it in every different way to revisit it.”
The Republicans can claim a small victory as the Senate voted to repeal the 1099 requirement that was a highly unpopular inclusion in the healthcare reform law. Many perceived this as a tax on healthcare consumers and small businesses because it required anyone performing a transaction equaling $600 or more to file a 1099 form with the IRS. The cost of the requirement had the potential to add up to 40 percent for some small businesses, which could have resulted in closures or layoffs. The amendment passed the Senate by an 81 – 19 vote and has President Barack Obama’s support. Opponents of the amendment, such as Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), said that Congress, not the White House, should wield the budget-cutting ax.
The Senate’s actions come on the heels of a decision by Florida Federal District Court Judge Roger Vinson that it is unconstitutional for Congress to pass a healthcare law that requires Americans to obtain insurance coverage. Judge Vinson’s decision created a 2 – 2 tie in lower courts. According to Judge Vinson’s decision, “The act, like a defectively designed watch, needs to be redesigned and reconstructed by the watchmaker.”
Judge Vinson’s decision increases the likelihood that the Affordable Care Act will end up in front of a Republican-dominated Supreme Court. “A year ago, it was a long shot,” said Randy Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown University. “Now, it’s seen as a 5 to 4 case. And nobody’s sure which way the 5 – 4 will come down.” The stakes are enormous for the defining achievement of the Obama presidency. The decision also has the potential to define the limits of federal power for generations. “This case could define federalism for the next 100 years,” said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University constitutional law professor. “This is a very difficult case for the Supreme Court as an institution. You have a slight majority of the states opposing it. You have a national law that’s affecting hundreds of billions of dollars and services. This is the type of case the justices do not relish.”
Additionally, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has asked the Supreme Court to fast track his state’s challenge to the healthcare law, saying he thinks the legal dispute has become so important that the nation’s highest court should take it up immediately. “We want to eliminate the uncertainty in both our governmental budgets and in the private sector,” he said. “We want to eliminate at least the uncertainty associated with health care.” The Obama administration opposed the move, saying the case should follow the regular process. This would put off until 2012 a Supreme Court ruling on the law that aims to provide more than 30 million uninsured Americans with medical coverage and cracks down on unpopular insurance industry practices.
Tags: 1099 requirement, Democrats, Federalism, Florida, Florida Federal District Court, George Washington University, Georgetown University, House of Representatives, Judge Roger Vinson, Ken Cuccinelli, Layoffs, Obamacare, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama, repeal, Republicans, Senate, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Carl Levin, Senator Mitch McConnell, small business, Tax, Unconstitutional, uninsured Americans, United States Supreme Court
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Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) study reveals that as many as half of all Americans under the age of 65 have pre-existing medical conditions, which could mean rejection by insurance companies or having to pay more for coverage. According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, that totals approximately 169 million people. The report says that, of those Americans who are uninsured, 17 to 46 percent have pre-existing medical conditions, depending on the definition used. Such health problems are particularly common among adults aged 55 to 64 – a group long recognized as a problem spot in the healthcare system, because people of that age tend to have higher medical expenses but are too young to qualify for Medicare.
A Democratic analysis, released last fall by Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), then the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that between 2007 and 2009, the nation’s four largest private health insurers denied coverage to about 650,000 people based on their medical history.
“Not surprisingly, as people age, their likelihood of having – or having had – a health condition increases,” according to Sebelius. “Looking only at pre-existing conditions used in determining eligibility for high-risk pools, the percentage of Americans with these health conditions ranges from five percent of children to 48 percent of people ages 55 to 64. Adding in common conditions that major insurers generally use in medical underwriting raises the risk to 24 percent for children, increasing to 86 percent for people ages 55 to 64.”
Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry’s lobbying group, offers a different opinion, noting that “We’ve long supported reforming the individual insurance market so that everybody can have access to health-care coverage, regardless of their preexisting medical conditions. But this report exaggerates the number of people who are impacted.”
Rick Ungar, who writes for Forbes, offers another perspective and asks if pre-existing conditions are an indication that the American Dream is dead. According to Ungar — who is an attorney in Southern California, and a frequent writer, speaker and consultant on healthcare policy and politics – his initial reaction to the government report was “Yeah…it made me suspicious too. Go figure that this extraordinary government revelation would surface on the very day the House is taking up debate on the repeal of healthcare reform.”
Ungar’s suspicion eased when he read this additional quote from Zirkelbach. “Most of the Americans included in the figures currently have insurance. They would be at risk,” he said, “only if they needed to change coverage and buy it on their own. People who get insurance through their jobs are guaranteed coverage.” Alter+Care Inspire notes that an additional reason might be people losing their jobs – something to consider at a time when the private sector has been so sluggish.
“And there it was,” according to Ungar. “This spokesman for the nation’s pre-eminent health insurance lobby was not only acknowledging that there are millions upon millions of people with pre-existing conditions who could be denied healthcare coverage, he was actually telling us that we need not worry about them because – so long as they continue to get their insurance through their job – it’s all good. But what if they want to leave their job to engage in some good, old-fashioned American entrepreneurialism? Did Mr. Zirkelbach inadvertently direct our attention to the depressing reality that up to one-half of all Americans may not be free to pursue their futures and fortunes as they see fit because they are trapped in their jobs by their healthcare benefits? You bet he did.”
Tags: American Dream, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, Entrepreneurialism, Forbes, healthcare coverage, healthcare reform, Henry A. Waxman, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House of Representatives, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicare, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, pre-existing conditions, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Rick Ungar, Senate
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Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
With Democrats in control of the Senate and Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, a battle royal is shaping up on Capitol Hill over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – aka the healthcare reform law. The house has already passed a bill that symbolically repeals the law, and each chamber is holding hearings – the Senate Democrats to sing the praises of healthcare reform and the House Republicans to point out what is wrong with it. Named “Repealing The Job-Killing Health Care Law Act”, the legislation passed the House and is expected to be dead on arrival in the Senate. “The ‘job killing’ charge is ‘demonstrably ridiculous’: The GOP’s ‘farcical’ claim that healthcare reform will cause job losses is ‘transparently false,’” according to Steve Benen, writing in a Washington Monthly article.
Although polls show little change in Americans’ understanding of the law, Democrats see the GOP-driven debate as giving them another opportunity to tout the bill’s benefits. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research, says that strategy could be particularly effective with women, a critical voting group. “They’re the healthcare voters and the healthcare decision makers,” she said. Lake warns that Democrats need to shift the dialogue from how the law impacts the federal budget to stories about real people and how the new law has helped them. “You win women back by telling them that if their kids have asthma and it’s a pre-existing condition, they won’t be covered anymore,” she said. The law’s symbolic repeal, according to Lake, is “the first sign of tension that Republicans face of how do you keep the tea party base and still appeal to independent women who were the key swing voters in 2010 and will be again in 2012.”
President Barack Obama suggested in his State of the Union speech that he is open to fixing some parts of the Affordable Care Act. “President Obama outlined a vision for our nation’s future that includes key American Medical Association priorities, such as lowering healthcare costs through medical liability reform, improvements to the new health reform law and investments in biomedical research,” said AMA president Dr. Cecil Wilson. Additionally, Wilson is pleased that the president acknowledged that certain improvements should be made, such as eliminating the 1099 filing requirement that requires businesses to file a form with the Internal Revenue Service for every vendor with which they have had at least $600 in transactions. The president stressed that he will not turn back the clock completely. “What I’m not willing to do…is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a preexisting condition,” he said.
One group that is applauding the symbolic repeal of the healthcare law is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and has pledged to fight government regulations that it believes will challenge American competitiveness.
In the recent “State of American Business”, Chamber president Thomas Donahue said “Workers who have been banking on employer-based coverage when they retire are being told not to count on it. And as premiums rise, thanks in part to the law’s new mandates, many companies are thinking about ending their employer-based plans, and moving workers into government-run exchanges. By mid-December, HHS had already granted 222 waivers to the law—a revealing acknowledgement that the law is unworkable. And, with key provisions under challenge in the courts by states and others, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.”
Tags: "Repealing The Job-Killing Health Care Law Act", 1099 filing requirement, American Medical Association, Biomedical research, Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, Government regulations, healthcare reform law, House of Representatives, Internal Revenue Service, Lake Research, Medical liability reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama, repeal, Republicans, Senate, State of the Union speech, Steve Benen, Tea Party, U. S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington Monthly
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Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
The Senate recently passed landmark legislation to make food safer and prevent deadly outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella. The law – if the House of Representatives also gives its blessing – gives the federal government broad powers to step up inspections of food processing facilities and compel firms to recall bad food. The $1.4 billion legislation – which will impose stricter standards on imported foods – sailed through the Senate on a bipartisan 73 – 25 vote. Outbreaks of food-related diseases have strained the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) resources in its efforts to trace the contaminated products and take them off the market.
The legislation emphasizes prevention so the FDA can halt outbreaks before they start. Farmers and food processors will be required to tell the FDA how they are working to keep food safe throughout every stage of production. President Barack Obama hailed the bill’s passage, noting that “We are one step closer to having critically important new tools to protect our nation’s food supply and keep consumers safe.” Despite broad support, the bill had stalled in the Senate because some feared it would harm small-scale farmers. Senator Jon Tester (R-MT) added an amendment that will exempt some of those operations from expensive food safety plans required by bigger producers.
Although the House of Representatives approved the legislation in July of 2009, that bill does not include the same exemption. With little time left in the current lame-duck session of Congress, the question is whether the Senate and House can reconcile the two versions of the bill. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a sponsor of the legislation, said there is support in the House to pass the Senate version of the bill. If Senator Harkin is correct, the bill could be on its way to the White House for President Obama’s signature before the 111th Congress goes into recess.
Tags: E. coli, Food and Drug Administration, food safety, House of Representatives, Lame-duck Congress, Pew Health Group, President Barack Obama, public health, reconciliation, salmonella, Senate, Senator Jon Tester, Senator Tom Harkin
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Monday, December 6th, 2010
Even though Republicans will control the House of Representatives and have a larger presence in the Senate come January, they still are likely to hit some formidable roadblocks in their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act. Those roadblocks are such lobbying giants as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PRMA). The groups are on board with the new healthcare reform law because they will gain an estimated 30 million (or more) new paying customers in the next few years. The reform law is expected to increase payments to physicians and hospitals who have felt squeezed in recent years. Additionally, analysts believe the new law is a major force for job creation in the healthcare sector.
“These guys were onboard for a reason,” said David Dranove, a professor of health enterprise management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “Very few employers will drop private health insurance, and you will expand private insurance to 15 million people. If this legislation stands, we are not likely to see new reforms for a generation.”
Primary-care physicians, who are likely to benefit significantly from the healthcare reform law, will see their reimbursements from government insurance programs rise – although many believe the reform law is only the beginning. According to Dr. Cecil Wilson, AMA president, “While the 111th Congress made important improvements to our nation’s healthcare system, more work needs to be done.” Hospitals – which have been hard hit by patients unable to pay their medical bills because of unemployment – will be in better financial shape once more Americans get health insurance subsidies in 2014.
Pharmaceutical companies, which were among reform’s earliest supporters, oppose repeal, even though analysts say it will cost them $100 billion in government rebates. The upside is that the industry will obtain new customers who were previously uninsured and unable to afford the latest brand-name medications. Even the much-maligned insurance companies – who will have more than 15 million new customers – oppose repeal.
Tags: 111th Congress, Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, GOP, Health insurers, healthcare reform law, House of Representatives, Independent Payment Advisory Board, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, President Barack Obama, primary-care physicians, private insurance, Republicans, Senate
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Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
The Senate is on the verge of passing emergency legislation to postpone the 25 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements until January 1, 2011, according to leaders on the Senate Finance Committee. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) said “Working together, this agreement makes certain that seniors and military families can be confident they will be able to see a doctor and get the medicines they need. It is our hope the Senate will pass this package as soon as possible to give doctors, seniors and military families the care and the certainty they deserve.” The House of Representatives next must pass the bill and send it to President Obama for his signature by December 1. According to the Senators’ statement, the extra funds required to extend the cut will come from the Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010.
“Once signed into law by the President, it will mean that seniors and military families are spared the threat of a lapse in care. The next step is moving onto finding a yearlong extension before this fix runs out,” according to Baucus
The American Medical Association (AMA) and other physician groups applauded the Senate’s action. “The Senate’s action to stop the Medicare cut for one month will help avert a healthcare crisis for seniors that would have begun in just two weeks,” said Cecil Wilson, M.D., the AMA’s president. “This is a short-term reprieve and the AMA is urging Congress to pass a one-year fix. Delaying the 25 percent cut to the end of 2011 will inject some stability into the Medicare program for patients and physicians and provide lawmakers with time to develop a long-term solution to the broken physician payment system.”
Tags: American Medical Association, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, House of Representatives, Medicare, Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010, President Barack Obama, Senate, Senate Finance Committee, Senator Charles Grassley, Senator Max Baucus, SGR, Sustainable Growth Rate formula, Tricare
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Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Medical research will get a boost from the Obama administration’s proposed stimulus package that creates a permanent research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit for companies that carry out research-and-development (R&D) activities in the United States. Under the proposal, R&E tax credits would total as much as 20 percent, with $100 billion allocated over 10 years to qualifying research firms. According to President Obama, he will pay for the tax breaks by ending loopholes that let companies benefit financially by moving jobs and R&D overseas.
Medical device manufacturers’ lobbyists claim it’s too early to determine how much the R&E tax credits will promote product innovation and create new jobs. The Advanced Medical Technology Association, however, applauded the move. Bret Loper, senior executive vice president government affairs, said “AdvaMed has long supported making the R&D credit permanent. We look forward to seeing the details of this new proposal and the other tax changes being discussed today to determine how they will affect America’s medical technology companies.”
The National Venture Capital Association, which recently started the Medical Innovation & Competitiveness Coalition, counters that the new initiative will primarily benefit large companies rather than start-ups. “What our experience has been is that if a company is not profitable and paying taxes, they wouldn’t be eligible” for the tax credits, said Emily Mendell, the association’s spokesman.
Tags: Advanced Medical Technology Association, Lobbyists, Medical Innovation & Competitive Coalition, medical research, President Barack Obama, Senate, stimulus, tax breaks
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