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While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
8-4-11 Affordable Care Act Update
August 5, 2011
Federal Update
Budget Control Act of 2011 Signed into Law
This week Congress passed and the president signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011. Under this plan, the debt limit will be increased by $2.1 to $2.4 trillion. This increase will occur over multiple stages, with Congress voting on a resolution of disapproval for anything above the initial $400 billion increase.
The plan also calls for between $2.2 trillion and $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. The first round of spending cuts will exceed $900 billion and be achieved through statutory caps in discretionary spending over the next decade that will take effect beginning in fiscal year 2012 (FY 2012). Discretionary spending would be capped at $1.043 trillion in FY 2012. This level is nearly $7 billion below the FY 2011 enacted level but $23 billion more than the level included in the House-passed budget resolution for FY2012.
The second round of savings will be tied to the work of a new Congressional "super committee," which is required to develop legislation by November 23 of this year that would result in savings of at least $1.2 trillion. This committee of 12 members will include an equal number of representatives of both parties and both chambers in Congress. If the committee is unable to produce a bill or Congress fails to pass it, a process to sequester funds would begin. Under sequestration, a total of $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction would be achieved through across-the-board-cuts, half of which would come from defense spending. The deal presents a number of different scenarios that have different implications for our priority areas, including cancer research funding, prevention and early detection programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and insurance subsidies for individuals and families under the Affordable Care Act.
Work on the FY12 Labor-HHS appropriations bill will likely pick up in the House when Congress returns in September. The bill will likely go through the mark-up process beginning the week of September 4 and be on the House floor the week of September 18th. Senate action will likely trail the House by a few weeks.
HHS Adopts New Women's Preventive Health Care Recommendations
This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will adopt the recommendations recently submitted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on women's preventive health care. Beginning in August 2012, insurance companies will be required to cover preventive women's health services, including human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as part of cervical cancer screening for women over 30, and yearly well-woman preventive care visits to obtain recommended preventive services, without charging patients an additional fee. The guidelines can be found at: www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines/.
State Update
While a majority of states have adjourned for the 2011 session, many are still working in preparation for passing exchange legislation in the next session. Any state that intends to operate its own exchange will need to have passed legislation and made enough progress on implementation to receive approval or conditional approval of its exchange from HHS by January 2013.Some of the preparatory work now being done in the states includes conducting informational public hearings, surveying stake holders and stake holder groups and holding meetings that bring together individuals with a specific expertise in one or more areas that will be involved in an exchange's implementation and operation. To date, 11 states have passed legislation establishing a state exchange since passage of the ACA and eight others have passed legislation that keeps the process moving forward towards establishing an exchange.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)