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Federal Government Affairs HOTLINE Number 2008-08 -- Week of Monday, April 7, 2008 In This Issue: * No Mark-up: Baucus Says Medicare Part B Reimbursement Fix Will Skip Committee, Go Straight to Senate Floor * Fifty-Two (52) Senators Sign Letter for Nurse Workforce Funding Boost * AANA President Wilson Submits Testimony for CRNA Education Funding * AANA and the AVANA Submit Joint Testimony Supporting VA CRNA Workforce Development * See You at AANA Mid-Year Assembly! * Amendments >> No Mark-up: Baucus Says Medicare Part B Reimbursement Fix Will Skip Committee, Go Straight to Senate Floor On Thursday (April 10th), Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) said he intends to send a bill addressing a scheduled reduction in Medicare physician fees straight to the Senate floor rather than have the committee do a mark up. While Baucus said he wanted the committee to mark up the bill, other committee members and Senate leaders thought that a single floor debate would be more efficient. Without congressional action, a 10% Medicare fee cut is scheduled to take effect July 1st, and another 5% cut hits Jan. 1, 2009. Republicans prefer legislation that would give physicians a 1% increase through 2009 and then reduce the fee by 21% on January 1st, 2010. That plan would cost $8.4 billion over five years. Senator Baucus, on the other hand, also supports delaying the fee cut by 18 months, but providing a 0% not a 1% boost reduces the package's cost closer to $8 billion. Republicans said their support for an 18-month delay depends on what offsetting spending cuts or revenues are suggested, which "means cuts to private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are likely off the table." Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the AANA have expressed support for a bill (S 2785) sponsored by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that would increase physician fees by 1.8% for 18 months and would not include "balloon financing" language that would set up higher pay cuts in the future to compensate for a temporary delay. The bill would cost almost $40 billion over five years and $84 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO estimates that a 1.5% to 1.7% fee increase would cost $8.7 billion over five years and that maintaining current payment levels would cost $8.1 billion over the same time period. Those estimates assume that a fee cut of at least 20% would take effect in 2010. CBO said that a 1% increase through 2009 without a later cut would cost $35.7 billion over five years and $80 billion over 10 years (CongressDaily, 4/4). Visit the Senate Finance Committee, http://www.senate.gov/~finance Visit the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), http://www.cbo.gov/ View the bill, http://thomas.loc.gov Click "Bill Number" Enter "S 2785" >> Fifty-Two (52) Senators Sign Letter for Nurse Workforce Funding Boost As of Friday (April 11th), in support of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs, 52 Senators signed a bipartisan letter circulated by Senators Mikulski (D-MD) and Collins (R-ME), urging Senate appropriators to boost federal funding for nursing workforce development to $200 million for FY 2009. The AANA had urged nurse anesthesia educational program directors, faculty and students to contact their U.S. Senators in support of the letter, which is part of the AANA's 2009 strategy to reverse an Administration proposal to eliminate all funding for Title VIII Advanced Education Nursing. >>AANA President Wilson Submits Testimony for CRNA Education Funding On Monday (March 31st), AANA President Wanda Wilson, CRNA, PhD, MSN, on behalf of the AANA, submitted a written statement for the record to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education asking for full funding of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs. The President's budget zeroed out the Advanced Education Nursing (AEN) grants, where nurse anesthesia educational programs receive the majority of their Title VIII funding. AANA requests the subcommittee provide at least $200 million for Title VIII programs, including $67 million for AEN Programs and $4 million for Nurse Anesthesia Education. Title VIII programs received about $156.5 million in FY 2008. This year's ask is approximately $44 million over the FY 2008 level and $90 million above the President's FY 2009 budget. >> AANA and the AVANA Submit Joint Testimony Supporting VA CRNA Workforce Development On Wednesday (April 2), the AANA and the Association of Veterans Affairs Nurse Anesthetists (AVANA) submitted joint testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, calling for an increase in funding to support recruitment and retention of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the VA healthcare system. The testimony also emphasized that the joint U.S. Army - VA nurse anesthesia educational program at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, is cost- effectively helping to strengthen the Veterans Health Administration's supply of nurse anesthetists. The statement from AANA President Wilson and AVANA President Angie Mund CRNA also underscored the long historical and continuing commitment of America's CRNAs to the U.S. Armed Forces and to the VA health system. >> See You at AANA Mid-Year Assembly! The AANA Mid-Year Assembly is taking place April 13th-16th in Washington, DC, with over 500 CRNAs and nurse anesthesia students already reserved to participate. Attendees will learn about the issues and agencies of the Federal government that influence CRNA practice, and will work together as members of the AANA to seek positive change by directly lobbying members of the U.S. House and Senate to reverse threatened cuts to Medicare and nurse education funding, and to reform the Medicare anesthesia payment teaching rules for both CRNAs and anesthesiologists equitably. For the first time, the CRNA-PAC is hosting its Sunday evening fundraiser in Presidential style - with a twilight tour of President Washington's Mount Vernon estate and dinner at the historic Mount Vernon Inn. Tickets are $200 per person and are selling fast, with proceeds to benefit CRNA-PAC. For more information visit the AANA website at http://www.aana.com. See what AANA will be advocating at MYA'08 by clicking here >> Amendments * The House and Senate will be in session this week. Both the House and the Senate will be in session this week with the House considering The National Landscape Conservation System Act (HR 2016). Meanwhile, the Senate will continue work on the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act (HR 3221), sent over from the House. * The FY 2008 Title VIII Nurse Faculty Loan applications are available and must be post-marked by May 13th, 2008 in order to be eligible for review, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As of this year, participating schools may award loans to part-time students in addition to full-time students. This program change becomes effective July 2008. To download the application materials, go to: http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/nflp/default.htm. Applicants may direct questions to the HRSA Division of Nursing staff: Ms. Denise Thompson, (301) 443-1399, dthompson@hrsa.gov or Ms. Nancy Douglas-Kersellius, (301) 443-0907, ndouglas@hrsa.gov * Stay Informed about the Nevada Hepatitis
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