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| LATEST NEWS AND ACTION ITEMS |
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| Pelosi Says Congress Close to Health Deal - Articles from Reuters and Kaiser Health News. - January 6, 2009 | |
| Lobbyists Continue Efforts To Influence Health Overhaul - Article from Kaiser Health News. - January 6, 2009 | |
| Health Bills Include Proposals For New Physician Payment System - Article from Kaiser Health News. - January 5, 2009 | |
| Senate-Passed Health Reform Bill Faces Tough Negotiations with House - Article from American Medical News. - January 4, 2009 | |
| Launching
HITECH - ONLINE FIRST article from The New England Journal of Medicine.
- December 30, 2009 Last week, the government took several critical steps toward a nationwide and secure electronic health information system. Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, describes the key elements of the HITECH Act. |
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| Ending End-of-Life Phobia — A Prescription for Enlightened Health Care Reform - Free, full-text perspective piece from The New England Journal of Medicine. - December 31, 2009 | |
| Senate’s Reform Package Wrapped Up in Time for Christmas - Free, full-text, Online Only perspective piece from The New England Journal of Medicine. - December 28, 2009 | |
| Seniors worry about Medicare Advantage cuts - Article from Associated Press. - December 28, 2009 | |
| U.S. Senate Approves Broad Healthcare Overhaul - Article from Reuters. Yesterday's articles from Reuters and The Hill. - December 24, 2009 | |
| President Signs Legislation Delaying Medicare Physician Payment Reductions - News item from Medicare Update. - December 22, 2009 | |
| American Society of Transplantation Concerned That Kidney Transplant Patients May Suffer Politics As Usual in Capitol Hill Health Care Reform Debate - Press release. News item from Kaiser Health News. - December 15, 2009 | |
| Lawmakers'
Plan for Immunosuppressants Spurs Division in Dialysis Community - Article
from The New York Times. Letter (3-page
pdf) from Kidney Care Partners (KCP). - December 14, 2009 Editor's Note: The letter from KCP suggests extending the MSP from 30 to 42 months for all patients. I believe much, much more could be accomplished by instead extending the MSP for employed ESRD patients to an indefinite period. It would transform the dialysis providers into renal rehabilitation specialists. See this draft version of RenalWEB's comments to CMS on the proposed bundle. |
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| Senate Democrats Agree on Medicare Buy-In Proposal? - Article from Medicare Update. Related article from Kaiser Health News. - December 9, 2009 | |
| Reid: 'Broad Agreement' Reached By Senate Democrats On Health Bill - Article from Kaiser Health News. - December 8, 2009 | |
| Seven Things You Didn't Know Were In The Senate Health Bill - Article from Kaiser Health News. - November 30, 2009 | |
| Reid pulls together Senate Dems to take huge step forward on health reform - Articles from The Hill, Kaiser Health News, and Medicare Update. - November 21, 2009 | |
| Senate Bill Guts Intellectual Freedom in Comparative Effectiveness Research - Article from GoozNews. - November 19, 2009 | |
| Senate Health Reform Bill Includes Significant Medicare Payment Reductions - Article from Medicare Update. - November 19, 2009 | |
| ESRD related language in HR 3590 the Senate health insurance reform bill - Blog entry from DSEN. - November 19, 2009 | |
With
Senate Health Bill, Reid Tries To Balance Many Interests - Articles
from Kaiser Health News and Medscape
Medical News. - November 18, 2009 |
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| Senator Grassley Introduces Fighting Medicare Payment Fraud Act of 2009 - Article from Medicare Update. - November 17, 2009 | |
| HR 3962 mandates the inclusion of binders and calcimimetics in the dialysis payment bundle - Blog posting by Bill Peckham from Dialysis from the Sharp End of the Needle. - November 16, 2009 | |
| Winners and Losers in the House Bill - Article from GoozNews. - November 11, 2009 | |
| On Hill, Bipartisan Support Emerging For Commission To Control Health Costs - Article from Kaiser Health News. - November 11, 2009 | |
| HR 3962: A Path to Progress or Paucity? - Article from Medscape Today. Related blog entry from DSEN - November 10, 2009 | |
| House,
Senate Health-Care Legislation: Side-by-Side Comparison - Article from
Bloomberg. - November 9, 2009 "Biologic drugs, made from living cells by companies such as Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen Inc., would get 12 years of protection from generic competition under plans passed by the House and the Senate health committee. The White House had sought to limit the exclusivity to seven years as a way of bringing prices down." |
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| Democrats Confront Challenges After House Reform Vote - Articles from Kaiser Health News. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill late Saturday by a vote of 220 215. - November 9, 2009 | |
| House Democrats Unveil Healthcare-Reform Legislation - Article from Modern Healthcare. - October 29, 2009 | |
| Lieberman, Other Lawmakers Express Opposition To Reid's Public Plan - Article from Kaiser Health News. - October 27, 2009 | |
| Senate Health Care Reform Legislation to Include Public Option - Video link from Medicare Update. Articles from Kaiser Health News. - October 26, 2009 | |
| Judiciary Committee Passes Bill to End Generic Industry Payoffs - Article from Gooznews. - October 20, 2009 | |
| Senate
Finance Bill (1502-page
pdf) Contains Two Changes in ESRD Provisions of Social
Security Act, Section 1881 - October 19, 2009 • (Page 992-993) ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON VARIATION OF COST SHARING FOR CERTAIN BENEFITS.— Subject to clause (v), cost-sharing for (renal dialysis services in section 1881(b)(14)(B)) shall not exceed the cost-sharing required for those services under parts A and B. • (Page 1080) (h) DIALYSIS.—Section 1881(b)(14)(F) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395rr(b)(14)(F)) is amended by striking ‘‘minus 1.0 percentage points’’ and inserting ‘‘reduced by the productivity adjustment described in section 1886(b)(3)(B)(iii)(II)’’ each place it appears in clauses (i) and (ii)(II). |
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| Legislation Introduced to End Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program - News article from Medicare Update. - October 15, 2009 | |
| Senate Panel Backs Healthcare Reform - Articles from Kaiser Health News. - October 14, 2009 | |
| Senate Finance Members Weigh Their Health Bill Votes - Articles from Kaiser Health News. - October 12, 2009 | |
| As Key Health Vote Draws Near, AST Pushes Senate to Say 'Yes' to Transplant Drug Extension - Article from PR Newswire. - October 8, 2009 | |
| Senate Finance Committee Reform Vote Scheduled for Oct. 13 - Article from HFMA. - October 8, 2009 | |
| Baucus's Bill and the Long Road to Reform - Free, full-text perspective piece from The New England Journal of Medicine. Related articles from HFMA and Kaiser Health News. - October 8, 2009 | |
| Health care reform: Saving American lives - Special comment from Keith Olbermann. - October 7, 2009 | |
| Franken, Klobuchar Back Device Makers - Article from Gooznews. - October 5, 2009 | |
| Senate Finance Committee heath insurance reform bill does not include extension of transplant drug coverage - Blog entry by Bill Peckham from DSEN. - September 16, 2009 | |
| Baucus Bill Released; No Public Option - Article from Kaiser Health News. Additional articles from Kaiser Health News and The Hill. - September 16, 2009 | |
| Baucus Circulates $900 Billion Health Reform Plan To 'Gang Of Six' - Article from Kaiser Health News. - September 7, 2009 | |
| Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Increase Lobbying - Article from Kaiser Health News. - August 20, 2009 | |
| Baucus: Finance Negotiators 'On Track' Toward Bipartisan Health Bill - Article from Kaiser Health News. - August 19, 2009 | |
| Obama Makes Health Case in Newspaper Opinion Article - Article from MarketWatch. Obama's op/ed piece in The New York Times. - August 16, 2009 | |
Olbermann Harshly Criticizes Members Of Congress Over Health Care Reform: "Legislators For Sale" - Video and transcript from The Huffington Post.- August 3, 2009 |
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| US House Panel Backs Exclusivity for Biologic Drugs - Article from The Wall Street Journal. - August 1, 2009 | |
| Lawmakers Struggling With Health Overhaul Bills - Articles from Kaiser Health News. - July 26, 2009 | |
| Doctor And Nursing Shortage Could Undermine Health Care Reform - Article from Kaiser Health News. - July 23, 2009 | |
| Biotech firms lobby for say on healthcare - Article from Boston.com. - July 21, 2009 | |
| Obama Administration Releases Independent Medicare Advisory Council Act of 2009 - Article from Medicare Update. On July 17, 2009, the Obama Administration released a draft version of the Independent Medicare Advisory Council Act of 2009 (Act). If enacted, it would give a MedPAC-like panel decision-making authority to set Medicare payment policy. - July 17, 2009 | |
| Consumer Groups Threaten To Withdraw Biologics Bill Support - Article from Nasdaq.com. - July 15, 2009 | |
| UPDATE: House Democrats Introduce America's Affordable Health Choices Act - Article from Medicare Update. - July 15, 2009 | |
| House Dems Unveil 1,000 Page Health Bill, Complete With Surtaxes On The Wealthy - Article from Kaiser Health News. - July 14, 2009 | |
| Transplant drug coverage bill long overdue - Letter to the Editor from Chicago Daily Herald. - July 9, 2009 | |
| Biotech Drug Copies Could Be Held Up 13 Years Under Senate Plan - Article from Bloomberg. - July 8, 2009 | |
| Familiar Players in Health Bill Lobbying - Article from The Washington Post. - July 6, 2009 | |
| House health reform bill first to tackle Medicare physician pay - Article from amednews.com - July 6, 2009 | |
| House Proposal Would Add Non-IV Equivalent Drugs to Bundle - Article from NephrOnline. - June 26, 2009 |
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| Baucus Signals Finance Committee Progress On Health Overhaul Bill - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 25, 2009 | |
| House Ways and Means Committee to Hold Hearing on Health System Reform - Article from Medicare Update. - June 23, 2009 | |
| House Reveals Its Healthcare Reform Bill - Article from HFMA. - June 22, 2009 | |
| Senate Health Committee Begins Amending Reform Bill - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 18, 2009 | |
| Former Senators Unveil Bipartisan Framework for Health Reform - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 18, 2009 |
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| Finance Committee 'Slows Down' It's Health Legislation Schedule - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 17, 2009 |
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| Lawmakers Want Federal Rules To Cover Home Health Care Workers And End-Of-Life Care - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 12, 2009 |
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| Bill would promote training of health care professionals - Article from AHANews.com. - June 5, 2009 | |
| Daschle Gives Health Reform 50-50 Chance Of Passing - Article from Kaiser Health News. - June 2, 2009 | |
| Senate panel finishes health reform hearings, foresees bill by mid-June - Article from Amed News. - June 1, 2009 |
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| Senator Rockefeller Introduces MedPAC Reform Act of 2009 - Article from Medicare Update. - May 26, 2009 |
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| CMS Information Related to the Economic Recovery Act of 2009 - Overview from CMS. - May 21, 2009 |
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| Senate Reform Bill Likely to Mandate Universal Coverage - Article from HFMA. - May 16, 2009 |
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| Ten (10) percent Write-off from the Nine (9) CWF data bases for the Tables called: Medicare Secondary Payment and Beneficiary ESRD Dialysis Auxiliary, for the Calendar Years 2000 - 2008 - CMS Program Transmittal (5-page pdf). - April 24, 2009 |
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| Health Subcommittee Considers Bill To Eliminate Pre-Emption for Medical Devices - Article from Kaiser Network. - May 14, 2009 |
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| House to consider health reform bill before August recess - Article from AHA News. - May 13, 2009 |
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| Nurses, Doctors Arrested at Senate Finance Meeting; Press for Single-Payer System - News release from the California Nurses Association. - May 12, 2009 | |
| Congress Approves Budget, Paves Way for Healthcare Reform - Article from HFMA News. - April 30, 2009 |
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| House Votes 227-196 To Affirm Democrats' Option To Use Budget Reconciliation Process To Fast-Track Health Care Legislation - Article from Kaiser Network. - April 23, 2009 |
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| The Struggle for Reform — Challenges and Hopes for Comprehensive Health Care Legislation - Free, full-text perspective piece from The New England Journal of Medicine. - April 23, 2009 |
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| Congress Approves Budget Resolutions - Article from Kaiser Network. - April 3, 2009 |
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| Patent Bill Gets Judiciary Approval, Moves to Senate (Update1) - Article from Bloomberg. - April 2, 2009 |
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| Sebelius, DeParle Discuss Health Care Reform With Congressional Lawmakers - Article from Kaiser Network. - March 25, 2009 |
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| NEJM Supports Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 - Article from Modern Medicine. - March 19, 2009 |
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| Legislation Would Give 12 Years of Market Exclusivity to Brand-Name Biologic Drug Manufacturers - Article from the Kaiser Network. - March 18, 2009 |
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| Sen. Edward Kennedy Working With HELP Committee Members To Introduce, Mark Up Health Care System Overhaul Legislation Before August Recess - Article from Kaiser Network. - March 17, 2009 |
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| Reps. Miller, Rangel, Waxman Will Work To Bring Health Care Overhaul Legislation to Floor by August Recess - Article from Kaiser Network. - March 12, 2009 |
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| Health Care and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - Free, full-text perspective piece from The New England Journal of Medicine. - March 12, 2009 |
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| American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5) Sec. 5001 Grant Award Summary - March 2009 |
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| Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Promotes Bill To Provide Medicare Coverage for Home Infusion Therapy Services - Article from Kaiser Network. - March 5, 2009 |
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| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Issues Proposed Rules for Enforcement of Genetic Nondiscrimination Law - News summary from Kaiser Network. - February 26, 2009 | |
| Sens. Grassley, Kohl Announce Bill To Require Pharmaceutical, Medical Device Companies To Disclose Physician Gifts - Article from Kaiser Network - January 23, 2009 | |
| Two House Panels Approve Medicaid, COBRA, Health IT Funding in Economic Stimulus Package - Article from Kaiser Network - January 23, 2009 | |
| House Appropriations Committee Approves Portion of Economic Stimulus Package With Health Care IT Funds - Article from Kaiser Network - January 22, 2009 |
| STATE LEGISLATION |
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| Crist Signs Alonzo Mourning’s Kidney Disease Bill - Article from The Jacksonville Observer. - June 11, 2009 |
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| Budget Proposal to Eliminate Dialysis Services Defeated - Article from Rocklin Today. - June 9, 2009 |
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| Lawmakers asked to make quick and drastic cuts to state programs - Article from Whittier Daily News. - June 2, 2009 | |
| Medigap Bill for Dialysis Patients Awaits Florida Governor's Signature - Article from Naples Daily News. - May 13, 2009 |
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| Organ Donor Families, Transplant Recipients Journey to Sacramento to Urge Passage of Key Donor Designation Legislation - Article from PRNewswire. - April 28, 2009 |
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| Sen. Oropeza bill preserves federal funding to help kidney patients - Article from the California Chronicle. - February 1, 2009 | |
| Kentucky Health Officials Lobby For "Dialysis Bill Of Rights" - Article from WKYT. - January, 19 2009 |
| FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS |
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U.S. Representatives: You can locate your U.S. Representative |
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| U.S. Senators: You can locate your U.S. Senators |
| FEDERAL LEGISLATION 111th CONGRESS (2009-2010) |
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| LOBBYING AND LETTER WRITING |
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| It is important to convince Senators and Representatives to cosponsor the bill through grassroots letters and lobbying. A bill that has wide, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate has a better chance of being enacted into law. When the House and Senate leaders choose bills to include in a Medicare package, they will look for bills that have cosponsors from a variety of geographic locations, from both political parties, and support from Members on the Committees that have jurisdiction over the program being effected. Do not e-mail your
Member of Congress, but instead take the time to type or hand write
a letter. ("Copy and paste" the sample letters to save time
and then edit them appropriately.) It will get a much better response
from your Senators and Representatives. Messages coming from the people
who elected them really do receive the most attention and are an effective
educational tool. |
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| Use these Tips on Writing a Legislator from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) to help you correspond with your congressional representatives. |
| CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES |
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| THOMAS - Legislative Information on the Internet from the Library of Congress | |
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House of Representatives - Homepage |
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Senate - Homepage
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| NKF Office of Scientific and Public Policy | |
| Issues and Legislation - from the Kidney Care Partners web site | |
| ESRD Briefing Book for State and Federal Policy Makers (pdf format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) from the ANNA web site | |
| Capital Kidney Connection from the National Kidney Foundation web site | |
| Kidney Care Partners web site |

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