Congressional Update
CONGRESS
House Passes HHS Appropriations Bill with Increase for Title V
On June 19, the House of Representatives passed a package of four FY 2020 appropriations bills to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (normally one bill); Defense; State; and Energy. The bill passed by a vote of 226 to 203, opposed by seven Democrats and all Republicans. It includes $99.4 billion for HHS, an increase of $8.9 billion above the 2019 level. See a bill summaryprepared by the House Appropriations Committee, and House Backs $1T Spending Bill amid Fears of a Fall Shutdown (Politico, 6/19/19). Included in the House bill is a significant increase for the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. As reported out of committee, the bill included an increase of $27 million over the current (FY 2019) funding level for Title V. On the House Floor, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) offered an amendment to increase Title V funding by an addition $7 million, which passed by a vote of 365-59. Thus, as passed by the House, the total amount for Title V is $712 million, a $34 million increase over current funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee may begin consideration of its version of the HHS spending bill after the July 4th recess. It is expected that the Senate committee will report out lower appropriations levels than are in the House bill.
Meanwhile, ultimate enactment of any appropriations bills is impeded by the "spending caps" that were set in the Budget Control Act of 2011. These caps have been raised temporarily multiple times since enactment of that law - via budget negotiations between administrations and Congress - in order to avoid government-wide automatic funding cuts ("sequestration"). The White House and congressional leaders are in the midst of negotiations as of this writing. See Congressional Leaders, White House Officials Fail To Reach Budget Deal (The Hill, 6/19/19).
House Passes Bill to Reauthorize Money Follows the Person Program
On June 18, the House passed the Empowering Beneficiaries, Ensuring Access, and Strengthening Accountability Act (H.R. 3253) by a vote of 371-46. Among other things, the bill will extend, through FY 2024, the Medicaid "Money Follows the Person" program, which helps people transition from institutional to community-based settings.
Tuesday Hearing on Legislation of Interest
On Tuesday, June 25, at 10:00 am ET, the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a legislative hearing, "Reauthorizing Vital Health Programs for American Families," which should be streamed live on the committee website. The bills to be addressed are:
(HELP Committee press release, 6/19/19)On June 19, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) - respectively, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Health Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) - introduced the Lower Health Care Costs Act of 2019 (S.1895). They announced that the committee will vote on the legislation on June 26. The bill would address a number of issues relating to health care costs, including "surprise medical bills" and prescription drug prices, and public health, including maternal health and obesity. Read the bill text and section-by-section summary. See Key Senators Release Bipartisan Package to Lower Health Care Costs (The Hill, 6/19/19). See also Senators Agree Surprise Medical Bills Must Go. But How? (Kaiser Health News, 6/18/19)
Bills Introduced to Protect and Assist Vulnerable Populations in Disasters
Two bills intended to ensure the safety of vulnerable populations during natural disasters have been introduced in both the House and Senate. The Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA) (S. 1754, H.R. 3215) would ensure that Medicaid beneficiaries who are forced to relocate to another state due to a disaster can continue to access their Medicaid-supported services, and would provide resources for states experiencing an influx of disaster survivors. The Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters (REAADI) Act (S. 1755; H.R. 3208) would help to ensure that people with disabilities and older adults are included and considered in disaster preparation and response by, among other measures, establishing a National Commission on Disability Rights and Disasters to make recommendations for best practices, and creating a network of centers to assist states and localities create inclusive disaster plans. Should the REAADI bill be enacted, Family Voices will work to ensure that families of CYSHCN are included on the Commission. Learn more about both bills at https://reaadi.com. For more about the topic in general, check out The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies.
F2F Funding
As reported in the June 13 Update and other recent Updates, bipartisan House and Senate bills have been introduced to extend funding for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2Fs) for an additional five years, through federal FY 2024, at the current level of $6 million per year. More details on these bills and the June 4 hearing on the House bill can be found on the Family Voices website. On June 11, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with seven other Democratic Senators, introduced the Territories Health Equity Act of 2019 (S.1773), which includes numerous Medicare, Medicaid, and other provisions related to health care in the territories. Among these is a provision that would permanently extend funding for the F2F program at the current level of $6 million per year. The House version of the bill (H.R. 1354), which was introduced by Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-US Virgin Islands) in February, includes an identical provision. Significantly, none of the current sponsors of either the House or Senate versions of the territorial health bills serves on a committee to which the bills have been referred. For this and other reasons, it is unlikely that we could secure a permanent F2F funding extension or an extension any longer than that of the other "health extenders" that typically travel together in one package of legislation.
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