Public Policy Update: October 15, 2009
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October 15, 2009
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Expanding Access to Addiction Treatment
Red Flags Rule Update: Federal Trade Commission Releases New Implementation Resource
National Council Signs On to Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Transition Principles
Senate Finance Committee Approves Health Care Reform Legislation; New Resource Details Behavioral Health Provisions in House and Senate Bills
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday voted to approve its version of health care reform legislation. All thirteen Democrats on the Committee voted in favor of the bill, along with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. While Democrats were pleased that the vote was bipartisan, Snowe expressed reservations about the bill and cautioned that her recent vote was not an indicator of how she might vote on future versions of the legislation. However, there are some indications that the bill might garner at least one additional Republican supporter: while expressing some concerns about certain provisions, Senator Susan Collins of Maine on Wednesday announced that she was open to voting for a health care reform bill.
The Finance Committee was the last of five congressional committees to complete its work on health care reform. The Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate have begun internal negotiations to reconcile their committees’ bills into comprehensive packages that can be brought to the floor of each chamber, with the goal of beginning debate by the end of October. Once a bill is passed by each chamber, it will go to conference committee, where the final details will be decided upon.
On October 6, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report comparing the major behavioral health provisions in the House and Senate health care reform bills. The primary areas of analysis include provisions related to mental health parity, federally qualified behavioral health centers, grant programs to train and educate behavioral health providers, and co-location of primary care with behavioral health services. The National Council is proud of its leadership in many of these areas during the health care reform debate.
As health care reform continues to progress through Congress, stay tuned to the Public Policy Update and Action Alerts from the National Council to find out how you can get involved. The National Council will be hosting a webinar on health care reform on Wednesday, October 21. You can register for the webinar on our website.
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Expanding Access to Addiction Treatment
The Open Society Institute and Lake Research Partners have released the results of a national poll showing broad, bipartisan support for ensuring that all Americans have access to alcohol and drug addiction treatment. According to the poll, 77% of Americans support including addiction treatment in health care reform, including large majorities of Democrats (88%), Republicans (72%), and independents (72 %). 69% said they would be willing to pay higher insurance premiums to make addiction treatment more accessible and affordable.
Red Flags Rule Update: Federal Trade Commission Releases New Implementation Resource
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new resource for businesses, including healthcare organizations, implementing the Red Flags Rule. “Complying with the Red Flags Rule: A Do-It-Yourself Prevention Program for Businesses and Organizations at Low Risk for Identity Theft” is intended to help organizations assess their risk of identity theft and design their own identity theft prevention programs.
The Red Flags Rule requires organizations to implement a written identity theft prevention program designed to detect the warning signs – or "red flags" – of identity theft in their day-to-day operations, take steps to prevent the crime, and mitigate the damage it inflicts. The FTC has ruled that health agencies must implement the red flags rule, as they are considered a creditor due to their billing process. Some of the obligations imposed by the Red Flag Regulations may be addressed by procedures that health care providers have adopted for dealing with patient information. Generally, the Red Flags Rule requires the board of directors of a health care provider to develop and implement a program to protect and monitor patient information for identity theft. A guide to the Red Flags Rule and implementing the regulations can be found online.
National Council & Other Advocates Thank Rep. Henry Johnson for Introducing Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act
The National Council has signed on to a letter by the Medicare Access for Patients to Prescription Drugs (MAPRx) Coalition thanking Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA) for his leadership in introducing H.R. 3799, the Affordable Access to Prescription Medications Act of 2009. This bill is intended to improve patients’ access to medications for chronic conditions and address the growing practice of imposing co-insurance requirements on a disproportionately large percentage of patients with chronic and debilitating conditions.
National Council Signs On to Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Transition Principles
The National Council has signed on to a statement by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities discussing the urgent need to provide greater assistance to youth with disabilities transitioning into adulthood and the workforce. The statement highlights the bleak situation of youth with disabilities, who often experience poor education, high unemployment, and a lack of career opportunities. The statement also urges Congress to strengthen programs for these youth and outlines the principles that should guide lawmakers as the programs come up for reauthorization. These principles cover federal policy in the areas of education, professional development/recruitment, and funding. Finally, the statement offers suggested definitions for “transition,” “universal design,” and related terms of importance for the many federal and state systems that serve youth with disabilities.
