POLICY BEAT Weekly Digest November 9th –13th, 2009 This Week in Health Reform… •House Passes Historic Legislation •Economic Burden of Health Inequalities Office of Health Policy and Government Relations House Passes Health Care Bill The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) late Saturday night by a vote of 220 to 215. The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (H.R. 3961) has not yet been voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives. A floor vote is planned for next week. The National Medical Association fully supports the passage of H.R. 3961, which would replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula with an improved physician payment system. 2 Roll Call Republican Anh Cao of Louisiana voted in favor of the House health reform bill. The following Democrats voted ‘no’ on the bill: Rep. John Adler (N.J.) Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.) Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.) Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.) Rep. Brian Baird (Wash.) Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) Rep. John Barrow (Ga.) Rep. Betsy Markey (Colo.) Rep. John Boccieri (Ohio) Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.) Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.) Rep. Eric Massa (N.Y.) Rep. Allen Boyd (Fla.) Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah) Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.) Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.) Rep. Rick Boucher (Va.) Rep. Michael McMahon (N.Y.) Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.) Rep. Charlie Melancon (La.) Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.) Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho) Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.) Rep. Scott Murphy (N.Y.) Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.) Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.) Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas) Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.) Rep. Bart Gordon (Tenn.) Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.) Rep. Parker Griffith (Ala.) Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.) Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.) Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.) Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.) Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.) Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.) Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.) 3 Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.) What You Can Do •Thank your representative if they voted for the health reform bill. •Without the passage of H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act, physicians will face a 21% pay cut for seeing Medicare patients. Call your representative and urge them to vote ‘yes’ on H.R. 3961. •Find contact information for your U.S. representative here. •Continue to share your experiences and feedback by sending an email to [email protected] For the latest health policy news and information visit our page NMA Health Policy Updates4 Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Report on the Economic Burden of Health Inequalities • $1.24 trillion –combined direct and indirect costs of health inequalities in the U.S. between 2003‐2006. • $ 229.4 billion –the amount that could have been saved between 2003‐2006 in direct medical care expenditure if health disparities were eliminated. • 30.6% ‐ excess direct medical care expenditures due to health inequalities as a percent of total health expenditures for racial/ethnic minorities. Eliminating health disparities would generate enough revenue to pay for health care reform. Click here to view the entire study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The Economic Burden of Health Inequalities in the United States 5 Work Cited • Cillizza, Chrus. ʺThe Fix ‐ The most important number in politics this weekend.ʺ Washingtonpost.com. 7 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/most‐important‐number/the‐most‐ important‐number‐in‐p‐62.html • ʺA Divided House Approves Sweeping Health Reform Legislation, 220‐215 ‐ Kaiser Health News.ʺ Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Family Foundation, 7 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily‐ Reports/2009/November/07/health‐bill‐passes‐House.aspx?referrer=search • LaVeist, Thomas, Darrell Gaskin, and Patrick Richard. The Economic Burden of Health Inequalities in the United States. Rep. Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. http://www.jointcenter.org/publications_recent_publications/health/the_eco nomic_burden_of_health_inequalities_in_the_united_states 6.