111th Congress and President Obama Burn the Midnight Oil
NAAOP
Description
Collection
Title:
111th Congress and President Obama Burn the Midnight Oil
Creator:
NAAOP
Date:
3/9/2009
Text:
111th Congress and President Obama Burn the Midnight Oil
President Obama and the 111th Congress have been among the most activist in
recent memory. Thus far this year, they have enacted a reauthorization and
expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and a
massive $787 billion stimulus package designed to increase the number of
jobs by 3.5 million, including almost $200 billion on health care spending.
The remaining spending bills that fund the federal government for the
remainder of fiscal year 2009 are poised to be debated by the Senate now
that the House has passed the bill and the federal budget blueprint calls
for the creation of a $620 billion reserve fund to support the cost of
national health care and entitlement reform.
Depending on personal politics, these developments can be seen as the
government either taking bold action to address unprecedented national
challenges or as a huge and unnecessary shift of debt to the next
generation. Whatever is said in this regard, it is clear the new President
will own these policies for years to come and the future of his Presidency
depends on how they ultimately succeed or fail. Inevitably, there will be
threats and opportunities in these policies for O&P providers and patients.
President's FY 2010 Budget: Health Care and Entitlement Reform:
Just this week, the President announced a blueprint of his federal budget
for FY 2010 and beyond, a bold document that takes on health care reform
through the creation of a $610 billion reserve fund. Contributions to this
fund would come from tax increases primarily on wealthy Americans and
reforms to entitlement programs such as Medicare. Assuming the Congress
adopts the concept of a reserve fund, this creates a huge threat to all
providers including O&P professionals, as Congress will be looking for ways
to save federal dollars for years to come in the Medicare program.
With Medicaid largely being held harmless, the cuts will fall hardest on
institution-based providers such as hospitals and nursing homes and a
variety of very significant, and controversial reforms, were listed in the
budget documents. The O&P community will have to remain vigilant to ensure
that poor policy decisions are not made that impact O&P patient care for the
sake of budget savings. On the other hand, the O&P field needs to be
proactive about Medicare reform and not simply be in the position of
rejecting any proposal for change that comes our way. NAAOP is closely
monitoring developments on Capitol Hill and responding quickly when
opportunities and threats arise.
It is clear that policymakers are serious about enacting health care and
entitlement reform this year. Following the withdrawal of HHS Secretary
Designate Daschle, the momentum on health care reform slowed considerably,
but the President's Joint Address to Congress this week made it clear that
he views health care and entitlement reform as a necessary component of
furthering economic security. The momentum created as a result is palpable
in Washington.
In this connection, NAAOP is working alongside other O&P organizations to
enact two major pieces of legislation that impact the O&P field, the federal
O&P parity law, which impacts private insurance and employer provided
coverage or O&P care, as well as Medicare legislation to link
provider/supplier qualifications with levels of complexity of O&P care. Both
of these bills are soon to be introduced in the 111th Congress.
Wrap-Up of FY 2009 Spending Bills:
On February 25th, the House passed by a vote of 245 to 178 a $410 billion FY
2009 omnibus spending bill, finishing up the work left over from the past
Congress. The agencies covered by the bill, including the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor and the Department
of Education, are currently being funded at 2008 levels under a continuing
resolution that is set to expire in less than 10 days on March 6. The Senate
is expected to take up the bill towards the end of next week.
The belated FY 2009 spending plan provides about $152 billion to labor,
health & human services and education programs, nearly a $6 billion increase
over 2008. When entitlement spending such as Medicare and Medicaid is
included, the total reaches $625 billion for the entire fiscal year, which
is approximately $25 billion more than last year. The omnibus package
provides HHS with a 4 percent overall increase. It is difficult to identify
specific aspects of this budget that directly impact the O&P profession but
many programs that the O&P community values, such as research programs at
NIH and NIDRR will benefit from a settled budget for the remainder of the
fiscal year.
Economic Stimulus Package:
The increased funding under the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill
comes on the heels of President Obama's signing of a $787 billion economic
stimulus package designed to bring the economy out of the current recession.
That package also includes significant boosts for healthcare programs
including nearly $90 billion in Medicaid funding for the states and $10
billion in additional funding for medical research at the National
Institutes of Health. The O&P research program at the National Center for
Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) will presumably receive its fair
share of those increased funds.
SCHIP Reauthorization and Expansion:
The SCHIP reauthorization and expansion was the first health bill signed
into law by the new President. The bill expanded the children's health
insurance program by over $32 billion over five years and is expected to
cover millions of currently uninsured children. To the extent that these
children require orthotic and prosthetic care, this is welcome relief for
providers faced with the difficult situation where a pediatric patient needs
O&P services and is without insurance of any kind. SCHIP is designed to
cover children whose parents do not quite qualify for Medicaid but whose
incomes levels do not allow them to purchase private insurance coverage.
Reauthorization and expansion of this program is being viewed as a down
payment on national health care reform.
Visit our website:
www.naaop.org
President Obama and the 111th Congress have been among the most activist in
recent memory. Thus far this year, they have enacted a reauthorization and
expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and a
massive $787 billion stimulus package designed to increase the number of
jobs by 3.5 million, including almost $200 billion on health care spending.
The remaining spending bills that fund the federal government for the
remainder of fiscal year 2009 are poised to be debated by the Senate now
that the House has passed the bill and the federal budget blueprint calls
for the creation of a $620 billion reserve fund to support the cost of
national health care and entitlement reform.
Depending on personal politics, these developments can be seen as the
government either taking bold action to address unprecedented national
challenges or as a huge and unnecessary shift of debt to the next
generation. Whatever is said in this regard, it is clear the new President
will own these policies for years to come and the future of his Presidency
depends on how they ultimately succeed or fail. Inevitably, there will be
threats and opportunities in these policies for O&P providers and patients.
President's FY 2010 Budget: Health Care and Entitlement Reform:
Just this week, the President announced a blueprint of his federal budget
for FY 2010 and beyond, a bold document that takes on health care reform
through the creation of a $610 billion reserve fund. Contributions to this
fund would come from tax increases primarily on wealthy Americans and
reforms to entitlement programs such as Medicare. Assuming the Congress
adopts the concept of a reserve fund, this creates a huge threat to all
providers including O&P professionals, as Congress will be looking for ways
to save federal dollars for years to come in the Medicare program.
With Medicaid largely being held harmless, the cuts will fall hardest on
institution-based providers such as hospitals and nursing homes and a
variety of very significant, and controversial reforms, were listed in the
budget documents. The O&P community will have to remain vigilant to ensure
that poor policy decisions are not made that impact O&P patient care for the
sake of budget savings. On the other hand, the O&P field needs to be
proactive about Medicare reform and not simply be in the position of
rejecting any proposal for change that comes our way. NAAOP is closely
monitoring developments on Capitol Hill and responding quickly when
opportunities and threats arise.
It is clear that policymakers are serious about enacting health care and
entitlement reform this year. Following the withdrawal of HHS Secretary
Designate Daschle, the momentum on health care reform slowed considerably,
but the President's Joint Address to Congress this week made it clear that
he views health care and entitlement reform as a necessary component of
furthering economic security. The momentum created as a result is palpable
in Washington.
In this connection, NAAOP is working alongside other O&P organizations to
enact two major pieces of legislation that impact the O&P field, the federal
O&P parity law, which impacts private insurance and employer provided
coverage or O&P care, as well as Medicare legislation to link
provider/supplier qualifications with levels of complexity of O&P care. Both
of these bills are soon to be introduced in the 111th Congress.
Wrap-Up of FY 2009 Spending Bills:
On February 25th, the House passed by a vote of 245 to 178 a $410 billion FY
2009 omnibus spending bill, finishing up the work left over from the past
Congress. The agencies covered by the bill, including the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor and the Department
of Education, are currently being funded at 2008 levels under a continuing
resolution that is set to expire in less than 10 days on March 6. The Senate
is expected to take up the bill towards the end of next week.
The belated FY 2009 spending plan provides about $152 billion to labor,
health & human services and education programs, nearly a $6 billion increase
over 2008. When entitlement spending such as Medicare and Medicaid is
included, the total reaches $625 billion for the entire fiscal year, which
is approximately $25 billion more than last year. The omnibus package
provides HHS with a 4 percent overall increase. It is difficult to identify
specific aspects of this budget that directly impact the O&P profession but
many programs that the O&P community values, such as research programs at
NIH and NIDRR will benefit from a settled budget for the remainder of the
fiscal year.
Economic Stimulus Package:
The increased funding under the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill
comes on the heels of President Obama's signing of a $787 billion economic
stimulus package designed to bring the economy out of the current recession.
That package also includes significant boosts for healthcare programs
including nearly $90 billion in Medicaid funding for the states and $10
billion in additional funding for medical research at the National
Institutes of Health. The O&P research program at the National Center for
Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) will presumably receive its fair
share of those increased funds.
SCHIP Reauthorization and Expansion:
The SCHIP reauthorization and expansion was the first health bill signed
into law by the new President. The bill expanded the children's health
insurance program by over $32 billion over five years and is expected to
cover millions of currently uninsured children. To the extent that these
children require orthotic and prosthetic care, this is welcome relief for
providers faced with the difficult situation where a pediatric patient needs
O&P services and is without insurance of any kind. SCHIP is designed to
cover children whose parents do not quite qualify for Medicaid but whose
incomes levels do not allow them to purchase private insurance coverage.
Reauthorization and expansion of this program is being viewed as a down
payment on national health care reform.
Visit our website:
www.naaop.org
Citation
NAAOP, “111th Congress and President Obama Burn the Midnight Oil,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 24, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/230192.
