AANA Federal Government Affairs
HOTLINE
Number 2005-18, Week of Monday, July 18, 2005


In This Issue:

* Senate Committee Passes Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill With APN Education Funding
* President Bush Asks Congress for Additional VA Money
* FDA Probes Pain Patch Deaths
* House Subcommittee Passes Patient Safety Bill
* Amendments




>> Senate Committee Passes Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill With APN Education Funding


On Thursday (July 14th), Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 27-0 to approve the Labor-HHS-Education fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill (HR 3010) (CQ Today, 7/14). For CRNAs specifically it means that Title VIII advanced practice nursing education funding levels for the Senate will be $58.160 million, compared with $57.6 million as adopted by the House.

The next step is for the full Senate to consider this health-funding package, which totals over $140 billion in discretionary spending. Once the Senate adopts the measure, members of the House and Senate will meet in conference committee to hammer out a consensus version that both chambers can adopt and submit to the President for his signature. That process is likely to take place this fall, with fiscal year 2006 beginning October 1st.

The $58.16 million funding figure for advanced education nursing in the Senate bill is a victory for CRNAs, since the Administration's 2006 budget had proposed cutting that account substantially. Instead, the Senate figure is similar to what was provided for APN education in 2005. From this amount, CRNA schools apply for funding totaling about $3 million or so annually, for strengthening CRNA schools and nurse anesthesia traineeships.

Visit the Senate Appropriations Committee Website, http://appropriations.senate.gov/

View the bill, http://thomas.loc.gov "Type in HR 3010"




>> President Bush Asks Congress for Additional VA Money


On Thursday (July 14th), President Bush asked Congress for $1.98 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare programs for fiscal year 2006 to address an expected budget deficit (CongressDaily, 7/15). In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Bush wrote, "My administration is committed to ensuring that our nation's veterans continue to receive timely and high-quality healthcare," adding, "I am requesting these resources to cover the expected increased costs in FY 2006 that VA will experience in its medical care budget" (Washington Times, 7/14). The VA health system is the largest single employer of CRNAs in the U.S.

Read more, http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050714-114730-6409r.htm




>> FDA Probes Pain Patch Deaths


The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating reports of deaths and overdoses involving powerful narcotic pain patches including one made by Johnson & Johnson. The alert is important to CRNAs, because "CRNAs certainly may utilize this method of administration of narcotics, primarily for post-op pain control," according to AANA Director of Practice Sandra Tunajek CRNA ND.

The prescription patches, known as transdermal fentanyl, are stuck on skin to deliver the medication. A generic form is sold under the brand name Duragesic by a unit of Johnson & Johnson, which last week updated the drug's label to discuss proper use of the product. The FDA said it was probing deaths, a spokeswoman wouldn't say how many, linked to the patches. "The agency has been examining the circumstances of product use to determine if the reported adverse events may be related to inappropriate use of the patch or factors related to the quality of the product," the FDA said in a statement July 15.

* Read more about what the FDA is saying at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2005/NEW01206.html and http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/fentanyl/default.htm

* FDA information for healthcare professionals is at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/InfoSheets/HCP/fentanylHCP.htm




>> House Subcommittee Passes Patient Safety Bill


On Thursday (July 15th), the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health approved by voice vote a bill (HR 3205) that would establish a database for healthcare providers to voluntarily report medical errors to state, local and private patient safety monitoring groups. At the request of AANA, and with the involvement of CRNAs at the AANA Midyear Assembly last April, the legislation specifically includes CRNAs as practitioners involved in this patient safety reporting system.

Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would maintain the database, analyze reports, and identify regional and national trends in medical errors. Of importance to CRNAs, information about medical errors reported to the database could not serve as evidence in medical malpractice lawsuits. In addition, the bill would authorize $25 million in grants for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to help upgrade technology that helps reduce medical errors. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved similar legislation (S544) in March (CQ Today, 7/14).

Visit the Subcommittee on Health Website, http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/subcommittees/Health.htm

Visit the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Website, http://help.senate.gov/

View the bills at Thomas, http://thomas.loc.gov
"Type HR 3205 for the House bill"
"Type S 544 for the Senate bill"




>> Amendments


* The House and Senate will be in session this week. The House will be taking up the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 (HR 2601), while the Senate will be focusing on the Foreign Operations, Export Financial and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2006 (HR 3057), sent over from the House, and presidential nominations.

* New bill to be introduced providing relief from Part B cuts. On July 21st, the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a draft bill sponsored by Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) that would repeal the existing formula used to calculate Medicare physician payments and replace it with a system that rewards doctors for providing quality care. Under the current "Sustainable Growth Rate" (SGR) formula, Medicare payments to CRNAs and physicians are scheduled to be reduced by about 5% annually for the next seven years. The AANA is working to ensure CRNAs' involvement in processes measuring and providing incentives for quality care, known as "pay for performance" or "value-based purchasing" systems.

* House to CMS: Help Stop Part B Payment Cuts. On Tuesday (July 12th), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) and Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Johnson sent a letter to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, asking the Bush administration to work with Congress on a package of legislative and administrative proposals to change the Medicare physician payment formula. The letter states that a projected 5% annual cut in Medicare physician payments over seven years is "simply unacceptable." The letter said, "We believe that the time is ripe to tie physician payments to quality performance, a position that we know you share."

* Senate Panel Moving Health IT Bill. The Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) takes up a health information technology grants and standardsetting measure Wednesday, July 20. Sponsored by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and others, the measure is important to CRNAs in that the measure may influence the development of anesthesia electronic medical records and standards.

* Register for the Spy Museum Reception and Tour! For those of you attending the AANA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, this year, make sure you register for the International Spy Museum Reception and Tour. The event will be held Tuesday, August 9th (8pm-10pm). Proceeds will benefit the CRNA-PAC. See the Meetings page at http://www.aana.com for more details.

* 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, Senior Director. C 2005 American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.