AANA Federal Government Affairs
HOTLINE
Number 2004-22, Week of Monday, September 20, 2004
In This Issue:
* In Medicare, Private Plans Pay More than Fee-For-Service
* Action Continues on Health Budget Bill Including CRNA Education Funds
* Amendments
>> In Medicare, Private Plans Pay More than Fee-For-Service
A Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report released to Congress on
Thursday (September 16th) shows that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) pays Medicare private health plans an
average of 107% of what it would cost to care for the same beneficiaries under
the traditional fee-for-service program (New York Times, 9/17). Congress had
"once assumed" that it could convince private plans to
maintain their participation in Medicare by giving them payments equal to 95% of
the cost of fee-for-service Medicare, "but experience showed that was not
enough." According to the report, Medicare payments to private plans are as high
as 116% of the fee-for-service payments in some cities and 123% in rural
counties. The estimates do not include $10 billion in special bonus payments to
private plans that the new Medicare law set aside as an incentive for the plans
to enter or stay in the market from 2007 to 2013.
>> Action Continues on Health Budget Bill Including CRNA Education Funds
Health-funding legislation that helps support expansion of CRNA educational
programs has made its way through the House and the Senate Appropriations
Committees. On September 15th, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the
fiscal year 2005 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related
Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill (S 2810, S Report 108-345). The report
maintains 2004 levels Advanced
Nursing Education appropriation levels and provides for a 34% increase above
what the Administration had requested for 2005. The House-passed fiscal year
2005 spending bill (HR 5006, H Report 108-636) includes
language effectively ensuring an approximately $3 million "line item" for nurse
anesthesia educational program competitive grants and student nurse anesthetist
traineeships. The $142.317 billion Senate bill will have to be ironed out with
that of the House version passed a few weeks back. The final passage of the bill
is not expected until after the election and possibly the first of the year.
To view the House Report,
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp108:FLD010:@1(hr636):
>> Amendments
* Both the House and Senate are in session this week, with the House working on
(HR 5025) the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations
Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Meanwhile, the Senate will be debating (HR 4837) the
Military Construction Appropriations bill for FY 2005. Both the House and Senate
are scrambling to finish work by early October so legislators can go home and
campaign for the November 2nd elections. However, Roll Call and other news
outlets suggest it is likely Congress will not complete all its work, especially
on budget matters, and is likely to return to Washington in a "lame duck"
session, perhaps starting the second week of November.
* The US Department of Health and Human Services Division of Nursing has posted
its FY 2005 summary of educational grant opportunities online. According to the
FY 2005 Division of Nursing grant program preview, applications for nurse
anesthetist traineeships funding are due November 15, 2004. Applications for
nurse education and practice grants, and for advanced education nursing grants,
are due December 3, 2004. Of chief interest to nurse anesthesia educational
programs, grant forms, instructions and other important guidelines are
available at http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/preview/.
* For up-to-date Congressional floor & committee schedule information, see
http://thomas.loc.gov/.
>> For More Information
The AANA Federal Government Affairs Hotline is published for the nurse
anesthetist members of AANA each week Congress is in session by the AANA Office
of Federal Government Affairs, Washington DC, 202-484-8400,
info@aanadc.com, Frank Purcell, Director.
Copyright (c) 2004 American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
(posted 9-27-2004)