House passes $472 billion federal health spending bill

The legislation rejects proposed cuts to primary care physician training programs and includes a 2.6% increase for the NIH.

By Dave Hansen, AMNews staff. Aug. 13, 2007.

Washington -- The House last month passed a $472 billion fiscal 2008 budget for the Dept. of Health and Human Services that would allocate more funding for key health programs. But the bill faces a veto threat from President Bush because its overall spending is more than the administration supports.

The measure would increase funding for Medicare, Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health. It rejects Bush's proposal to nearly eliminate funding for the Title VII program, which finances education and training programs for primary care physicians and preventive medicine specialists. It also rejects proposed funding cuts to the National Health Service Corps, which works to recruit primary care physicians for underserved communities.

The cuts would "irreparably harm necessary investments in the nation's health care work force," the AMA stated in a June 20 letter to House Appropriations Committee Chair David R. Obey (D, Wis.). The Association's letter also asked Obey to increase NIH research funding in general.

The House bill would appropriate $29.65 billion for the institutes in fiscal 2008, up $750 million (2.6%) from last year and $1.02 billion more than Bush requested in his budget.

The legislation would allow for 10,666 new and competing grants, an increase of 545 from fiscal 2007, according to House Democrats. It also would reverse a two-year freeze in the inflation adjustment for grants. The average new grant would receive a 2% increase.