AANA Federal Government Affairs
HOTLINE
Number 2005-26 Week of Monday, October 24, 2005


In This Issue:


* Senate Begins Considering Health Funding Bill, Including Nurse Education
* Senate Finance Republicans Agree to Reconciliation Deal
* Amendments




>> Senate Begins Considering Health Funding Bill, Including Nurse Education

On Friday (October 21st), the US Senate began to consider the FY 2006 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill (HR 3010, S Rpt 109-103), a mammoth measure that among many other things includes $155.6 million for nursing education, and $58.2 million for advanced education nursing (AEN). From the AEN account comes the approximately $3 million in annual funding for which CRNA educational programs compete to expand or establish programs, and to fund modest nurse anesthesia traineeships.

The Senate's sum for advanced education nursing is an important victory for CRNAs, since the amount is $15.5 million above that requested by the President's 2006 budget. In the spring of 2005, AANA submitted testimony to Congress justifying the importance of funding for nurse anesthesia education.

Once the Senate completes consideration of this bill, it goes to House-Senate conference committee where a consensus version of the measure will be hammered out for adoption by Congress and signature by the President into law (The House adopted its version of HR 3010 on June 24th, on a 250-151 vote). However, that agreement may be tough to achieve; the Senate measure relies on a timing change for Social Security disability payments that effectively allocates an additional $3 billion that the House measure does not have available.

For more information, http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app06.html (Provides links to federal appropriations legislation at each step)

The Division of Nursing Title VIII programs are at,
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/ (Guidance to applicants for FY 2006 funding will be posted on this Division of Nursing site shortly)




>> Senate Finance Republicans Agree to Reconciliation Deal


On Thursday (October 13th), the Senate Finance Committee Republicans reached an agreement on a fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation plan that would save a net $10 billion in Medicaid and Medicare costs over five years (CQ HealthBeat, 10/20. Of particular importance to CRNAs, the package does not contain anti-CRNA "poison-pill" provisions, does include language reversing the coming 2006 4.4% Medicare Part B payment cut to a 1.0% increase, and includes language providing for Medicare pay-for-performance initiatives.

The plan would include $25.1 billion in proposed spending reductions and about $15 billion in spending increases for Medicaid and Medicare (Wall Street Journal, 10/21). The plan would provide a net savings of $4.26 billion in Medicaid costs and a new savings of $5.76 billion in Medicare costs (CQ HealthBeat, 10/20). The plan would increase Medicaid rebates paid by pharmaceutical companies from 15.1% to 17% for a savings of $1.1 billion. In addition, the plan would revise the prescription drug reimbursement formula for Medicaid to limit the profit margins of pharmacists for a savings of $4.57 billion (Wall Street Journal, 10/21). The plan also would place new restrictions on Medicaid asset-transfer rules for an estimated savings of $305 million (CQ Today, 10/20). The plan would provide $1.8 billion in additional Medicaid funds for survivors of Hurricane Katrina and $834 million to fund legislation (S 183) sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that would allow families with annual incomes at or less than 300% of the poverty level to purchase Medicaid coverage for disabled children (CQ HealthBeat, 10/20).

The Senate Finance Committee is working on the measure starting Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Two other congressional healthcare committees of jurisdiction are anticipated to take up budget legislation potentially affecting healthcare programs important to CRNAs this week. The House Energy and Commerce Committee considers its reconciliation package, which secures savings by several changes to the Medicaid program, beginning Thursday, Oct. 27. Its posted draft measure does not include anti-CRNA poison pill provisions. The House Ways and Means Committee has not yet released its package or its timeline for consideration.

Visit the Senate Finance Committee,
http://finance.senate.gov

View the Grassley bill,
http://thomas.loc.gov "Type in S 183"




>> Amendments


* The House and Senate will be in session this week. The House will be taking up the Hurricane Katrina Financial Services Relief Act of 2005 (HR 3945), while the Senate will be focusing on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006 (HR 3010), sent over from the House, and presidential nominations.

* Stay tuned for possible CRNA grassroots advocacy action the next few weeks, as Congress works on legislation affecting CRNAs' Medicare payment and funding for nurse anesthesia educational programs.

* Subcommittees Mark-up Reconciliation Bills this Week. Both the House and Senate Subcommittees will work on marking-up their reconciliation bills this week. These bills will be rolled into one package for both the House and Senate. Once each chamber passes their version of reconciliation, the bills will go to conference to combine the bills into one before a final vote by Congress.

* The CRNA-PAC Committee requests all CRNAs who've received their annual dues statement to be sure to remember the CRNA-PAC Dues Checkoff option. Members' support of CRNA-PAC helps keep the nurse anesthesia profession's voice strong in Washington! For further information, email info@aanadc.com.


* See you in a couple of weeks in Chicago at the AANA Fall Assembly of States! For more information, see www.aana.com and click Meetings.

* 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.