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News
3-10-11 Affordable Care Act Update
March 11, 2011
In Congress
Funding the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year is still a top priority for Congress and President Obama. To date, lawmakers have still not been able to come to a final agreement. The House passed a 2011 fiscal year (FY 2011) spending bill, H.R. 1, in February that stripped the budget of funds necessary to implement the Affordable Care Act and also made deep cuts to federal cancer research and prevention programs. The Senate and the president considered the bill a non-starter. With the temporary funding measure keeping the government open set to expire on March 4, a shutdown was averted with a second stopgap spending measure that will keep the government operating through March 18.
Yesterday, the Senate voted on H.R. 1, and it failed by a vote of 44-56. Negotiations are now underway again to try to reach a final agreement on the FY 2011 budget. Another temporary funding measure may be needed if negotiations are not finalized before the March 18 deadline.
The Hill reports on other tactics the House is considering to strip funding from the Affordable Care Act.
Health Insurance Rate Increases
Under the Affordable Care Act, health plans must justify any unreasonable rate increases to the states and the federal government, and post them on their websites. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also have to make these justifications available to the public. Publishing this information in a required format, known as a consumer disclosure notice, will ensure the public can make “apples-to-apples” comparisons of plans’ requests to raise premiums. Yesterday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed draft of the consumer disclosure notice. Insurance companies would have to submit these forms to HHS for rate increases over 10 percent. HHS also recently announced the availability of $200 million in grants to states to help establish effective insurance premium rate review programs. Read the ACS CAN background paper on rate reviews.
Litigation Update
The Society and ACS CAN again partnered with the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association to file an amicus brief on Monday in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals identical to the one filed in the Sixth Circuit in January. The brief will also be filed in the 11th Circuit Court on April 25. Read the joint news release on the Sixth Circuit filing.
As you know, there are a number of cases pending across the country challenging the law. At the crux of each lawsuit is the constitutionality of the requirement that individuals purchase health care insurance (the so-called "individual mandate"). Our brief educates the court about the critical link between health insurance coverage and health outcomes, and argues that the individual mandate is necessary to ensure the patient protections included in the law remain in place.
Two other amicus briefs of note were submitted in the Fourth Circuit. The first, filed by AARP in support of the ACA, provides the courts with data on the problem of getting coverage for high-risk populations ages 50-64, and how this crisis with uninsured and underinsured people leads to more intense and costlier care for those entering Medicare. AARP also highlighted the problem of people having medical debt and not being able to leave their jobs. The other brief was from America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), an association that represents 1,300 health insurance companies across the country. The AHIP brief informs the court about how the nation's health care system works in practice, including how health insurance affects access to necessary medical services. AHIP's brief pointed out that if the individual mandate were struck down, other insurance reforms, such as the ban on pre-existing condition exclusions and annual caps, would not be economically viable.
In related news, the federal government filed notice of an appeal in the case pending in Florida in which 26 states are among the named plaintiffs. In that case, a federal judge struck down the law as unconstitutional. The government needed to file its notice to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in order to have it hear the case. Read more from Politico.
Read ACS CAN’s new fact sheet on the complex interplay of contradictory state litigation and legislation associated with the Affordable Care Act.
Health Care and You in the Media
Last week we told you about the launch of a new resource for consumers, HealthCareAndYou.org, that ACS CAN and other trusted national health organizations developed to provide Americans with easy-to-understand, unbiased information about the health care law so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their families.
The site has received significant media attention in print, blogs and on the radio since its March 1 launch, including mentions in The New York Times Prescriptions Blog, Orlando Sentinel, The New Republic and The Hill. Additionally, more than 300 radio stations aired the audio news release featuring sound bites from the organizations’ leadership – a potential reach of 2.2 million listeners.
The one-year anniversary of the ACA on March 23 provides a good opportunity to help to ensure that staff, volunteers, and the public at large have accurate information about the critical patient protection provision of the law and what it means for them. Please remember to mention HealthCareandYou.org and the Society’s consumer-friendly booklet about how the ACA is helping people with cancer and their families in your outreach efforts.
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)