Last week, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) officially introduced the “Affordable Health Choices Act,” the first sweeping health reform bill to be released to date. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to release their proposal next week, in advance of the  Committee’s scheduled markup the following week. The House Committees working jointly on reform (the Ways & Means Committee, the Energy & Commerce Committee, and the Education & Labor Committee), have only unveiled an outline of the key features of their bill, but legislative language is expected soon. The introduction of the Kennedy bill, with the others to follow, demonstrates Congressional leaders’ commitment to working with the Obama Administration to try to enact broad health reform legislation this year. The President specifically has set a goal of October 1st to sign a bill into law. 
     
While flexible on many of the details of potential “reform,” the President staked out key priorities in a letter last week to Senate Committee Chairmen Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) who are spearheading proposals in their respective Committees. President Obama underscored his strong support for a public option for health insurance (which has been the subject of intense debate among lawmakers), reducing geographic variation, and potentially giving increased power to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) in making payment-related reform recommendations that would receive special consideration by Congress. President Obama also affirmed his pledge in support of deficit-neutral policies and restated his aim to reduce the rate of growth in health care cost expenditures. In fact, the multi-industry stakeholder group (which included GNYHA President Ken Raske) convened by the President on May 11 submitted a letter dated June 1 that described cost saving strategies by each industry sector aimed at saving more than a trillion dollars (total) in national health expenditures over the next ten years. 
     
The Congressional Budget Office will now begin scoring proposals that will finance health reform legislation. Still under consideration is whether to tax workers’ health care benefits and other tax policies, such as limiting the itemized deductions certain individuals can take and advancing so-called “sin taxes” on tobacco, alcohol, and sweetened beverages. Provider payment reductions (including market baskets, graduate medical education, and disproportionate share hospital payments) are still very much at risk, and it is likely that Congress will make significant reductions to Medicare’s private managed care program, Medicare Advantage. GNYHA continues to follow and weigh in on health reform developments and will share details as they unfold in both Skyline News and Capitol Watch.