Federal Update
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced grants to fight chronic diseases, the leading cause of death in America, to states and communities with over 120 million residents,. Funded by the Prevention and Public Health Funded created by the ACA, Community Transformation Grants help states and communities address the root causes of chronic diseases such as smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Grantees will receive a total of over $103 million to transform where their residents live, work, play, and go to school so that they can lead healthier, more productive lives.
House Appropriations Committee Releases Draft FY12 Health Spending Bill
Also of note today, the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of its FY12 Health spending bill. The bill contains a substantial $1 billion increase for cancer research, in large part, thanks to the work of 600 ACS CAN volunteers who spent the better part of the week in Washington lobbying for it. Unfortunately, the bill also proposed deep cuts in funding for ACA implementation and the Prevention and Public Health fund. The corresponding Senate bill contains neither the research increase, nor deep cuts in ACA funding, which will make for an interesting remainder of this appropriations process. We will keep you apprised of further developments as they occur.
Read the press release ACS CAN issued following the release of the House draft spending bill: https://www.fightcancer.org/mediacenter/view/id/429/
State Update
HHS conducted several listening tours in recent days with stops in New York City on September 21st and Chicago on September 26th to hear concerns and comments about the establishment of the health benefit exchanges that must be up and running in every state by 2014.
The ACS and ACS CAN message from staff and volunteers who are attending the events have concentrated on four main areas, including:
1. Exchange Governance Boards and conflicts of interest,
2. HHS' "partnership" with states and how that will work in operating an exchange,
3. A timeline for when HHS will unveil details of the federal exchange,
4. The process for resolving eligibility disputes between Medicaid and a state exchange.
Litigation
It has been an eventful week for litigation related to the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Justice Department elected not to ask the full 11th Circuit Court of appeals to overrule the decision of the circuit's three-judge panel against the law, opting instead to take the case directly to the Supreme Court. This action by the Administration virtually guarantees that the high court will agree to hear the case in this term; it follows that a decision would be forthcoming by early summer. Other ACA challenge now working their way through the appeals process, including the 6th Circuit Michigan case and the 4th Circuit Virginia cases will likely be consolidated by the high court with the 11th Circuit case as part of this process.
Media and Polling
Report Focuses Attention on Rising Health Care Costs
A Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report released yesterday showed that premiums for employer-provided insurance rose 9 percent this year, a faster rate than last year's increase of 3 percent. The report concluded that recently enacted provisions of the Affordable Care Act -- namely those allowing young adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' insurance policies and those requiring some insurance plans to cover preventive services at no cost to patients -- accounted for approximate 1 to 2 percent of this increase. Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF, attributed the increase to rising health care costs and noted that employers are also requiring workers to pay a greater share of the tab for health coverage. According to the report, average premiums for family coverage have increased 113 percent since 2001.
New Poll: Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Largely Unaware of ACA Benefits
A significant number of Americans living with pre-existing conditions or who have family members with pre-existing conditions continue to be unaware of provisions of the Affordable Care Act that are meant to help them get coverage, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Only 61 percent of this population reported knowing that insurance companies could no longer deny them insurance based on their medical history, and a little more than half (56 percent) are knowledgeable of high-risk pools. These numbers have decreased from June 2010. Additionally, only 44 percent of those surveyed believe they will be "better off" under the law.
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)