Weekly Newsletter: April 21, 2008
Full House to Vote on Overriding Medicaid Fiscal Integrity Regulations
This Tuesday, the full House is scheduled to vote on legislation (H.R. 5613) that would impose moratoria on several proposed regulations issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore fiscal integrity to the Medicaid program. The bill will be considered under suspension of the rules, which limits debate and requires a 2/3 vote for passage. Some conservatives may be concerned that a bill costing more than $1.5 billion is scheduled to be considered under such an expedited process normally reserved for naming of post offices and other smaller pieces of legislation.
In addition, some conservatives may remain concerned by congressional actions to block regulations that respond to more than a dozen Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports released since 1994 highlighting the various ways states have attempted to “game” the Medicaid program and increase the amount of federal matching funds received. The history of these abuses has prompted the Administration to threaten a veto of any measure attempting to block CMS’ attempts to restore the fiscal integrity of the Medicaid program.
Because HR 5613 only places a moratorium on further administrative action until April 2009, the stated cost of the legislation is $1.65 billion. However, some conservatives may be skeptical that Congress would ever let this moratorium be lifted, and thus may be concerned that passage of the legislation ultimately could result in the nullification of approximately $16-18 billion in proposed savings—which, though significant, will lower federal Medicaid spending by just over 1% over the next five years.
In December 2005, 212 Members of Congress—all Republicans—voted to reduce Medicaid spending by less than $4.8 billion as part of the Deficit Reduction Act. If these moratoria remain intact, some conservatives may be concerned that Congress will have more than undone the modest savings which a Republican-led Congress enacted over sharp Democrat protests.
RSC Policy Briefs on the federal-state Medicaid relationship can be found here and here.
Democrats Pass Restrictions on Health Savings Accounts
The full House last week passed legislation that would enact new restrictions on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as part of broader tax legislation (HR 5719). The legislation requires all HSA account holders to independently verify the qualified nature of medical expenses for all withdrawals, subjecting those transactions not substantiated to income taxes. This language prompted the White House to threaten a Presidential veto of the bill, which the Office of Management and Budget argued “would impose new administrative burdens on the trustees of HSAs…[that] could undermine efforts by employers, individuals, and insurers to reduce health care costs and improve health outcomes by empowering consumers to take greater control of health care decision-making.”
The bill passed by a 239-178 vote, but only after the Republican motion to recommit failed on a 210-210 tie. This vote on the motion to recommit was extended after the motion’s proponents had received a majority of votes cast after the allotted 15-minute vote time.
The outlook for action in the Senate is unclear, and the threat of a Presidential veto on these HSA restrictions looms as well. However, the RSC will continue to weigh in on the need to protect the important consumer-driven health programs which Republicans have succeeded in establishing in recent years.
An RSC Policy Brief discussing this issue can be found here.
Specialty Hospital Provisions Possible Farm Bill Offset
As conferees attempt to reach agreement on a farm bill reauthorization, some Democrats have introduced a potential new offset: Restrictions on physician-owned specialty hospitals. This particular offset has already been proposed twice by House Democrats to pay for expansions of the government’s role in health care—the first as part of legislation (HR 3162) placing millions of children on government-funded health insurance rolls, the second in legislation (HR 1424) that would increase health insurance premiums by forcing employers and insurance carriers to cover such mental health disorders as caffeine addiction and jet lag.
Some conservatives may be concerned that this provision—which, because it was included in neither the House nor Senate versions of farm bill legislation, is outside the scope of the conference—would undermine and stifle the innovative practices developed at physician-owned hospitals in order to pay for additional farm subsidies. Some conservatives may also be concerned that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring assumptions regarding these provisions remain in dispute, yet the Democrat majority is considering using “savings” that may or may not exist in order to finance additional government aid to the agricultural sector.
An RSC Policy Brief discussing specialty hospitals can be found here.
Article of Note: Free Health Care Isn’t Cheap
This week, Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) delivered the budgetary verdict on Massachusetts’ novel health reform act passed in 2006—and the statistics raised into question whether and how long the lauded Massachusetts experiment can be sustained. Only about half of the state’s estimated 600,000 uninsured have gained access to coverage since the Massachusetts law imposed an individual mandate to purchase health insurance. Moreover, many more individuals than expected claimed free or reduced-cost plans available through the state’s Commonwealth Care program, creating a $153 million budget gap for the program’s first year of operation—and aides admit that future years face similar funding difficulties.
Gov. Patrick has proposed a $1-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes in order to finance the shortfall created by rising enrollment in government-funded health insurance. This comes on the heels of reports that 748 employers have already been taxed a total of $6.6 million in “assessments” for failing to provide health insurance to their employees.
Some conservatives may not be surprised by the rising health care costs associated with Massachusetts’ plan, and may be concerned by the increasing reliance on additional taxes to finance the program. The state’s many benefit mandates and insurance regulations have consistently resulted in insurance premiums amongst the highest in the nation, and higher taxes on businesses and individuals will do nothing to control skyrocketing health care costs. Instead, many conservatives may support additional reforms to decrease costly regulations and reform the state’s health care market, reducing the growth of health care costs by empowering consumers to make wise choices about their health options.
Read the article here: “Universal Health Care to Cost Massachusetts More than Was Budgeted”