New Legislation and Hearings for Week of May 2
Congress has returned from its two week recess and will be in session or in official constituent work periods from now until Memorial Day. This week the House will be considering a number of changes and repeals to the Affordable Care Act including de-funding state exchange subsidies and school based health clinics. The House will also consider legislation that would add more explicit language outlawing federally funded abortions. The Senate is not scheduled to hold any votes on health legislation this week. On Thursday at 10 a.m., the HELP Committee will hold a hearing titled "Do No Harm: Improving Health Quality and Patient Safety". Witnesses include Carolyn Clancy, M.D. , Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of HHS as well as two system administrators from Iowa and Colorado. The hearing may be broadcast live on the C-Span networks. If it is not, or you are unable to watch, transcripts of the hearing should be available on the HELP Committee website shortly thereafter (http://help.senate.gov/hearings/). Also on Thursday at 10 a.m., the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health with hold a hearing titled "The Need to Move Beyond the SGR." The hearing will "discuss suggestions on how to implement a physician payment system that will control spending and ensure quality health care for seniors." No witnesses have yet been announced to date. A transcript of this hearing should be posted shortly after the hearing on the Energy and Commerce website (http://energycommerce.house.gov/default.aspx) If you have any questions about any of this information, please contact NRHA government affairs staff at (202) 639-0550.