News in brief - Dec. 12, 2011

House bill would exempt Medicare from deficit cuts

Members of Congress are working to delay or eliminate future automatic cuts to the Medicare program.

Legislation that raised the debt ceiling in August required budget deficits to be reduced by at least $1.2 trillion during the next 10 years. About $123 billion will be cut automatically from the Medicare program beginning in 2013.

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D, N.Y.) has introduced legislation exempting Medicare from the automatic cut process, known as sequestration. The Medicare cuts would impede patient access to health services, he said. In New York state, 700,000 health care workers and hospitals stand to lose $2.6 billion.

"We simply cannot balance the nation's budget on the backs of seniors while simultaneously harming jobs," Towns said.

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House panel approves repeal of long-term-care program

The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 33-17 on Nov. 30 to repeal a long-term-care program in the health system reform law that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in October could not be implemented.

The vote fell largely along party lines, with three Democrats supporting the repeal measure. The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee on Nov. 15 also voted to strip the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Program from the health reform law.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R, Mich.) said Republicans on the panel were not surprised to hear that the CLASS Act was determined by HHS to be unfeasible. "We have to start over on long-term-care reform -- an issue that will affect millions of Americans as they or a loved one need care," he said. "But first we must erase a program that we know will not work, a program that was never structured to work, and that we could never afford."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, W.Va.) said the CLASS Act may not be perfect, but Republicans should offer an alternative instead of repealing the program.

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Medicare has new obesity screening, counseling benefit

The Medicare program now will cover preventive screening and counseling for obesity, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Nov. 29.

"This decision is an important step in aligning Medicare's portfolio of preventive services with evidence and addressing risk factors for disease," said CMS Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway, MD.

The new screening service for eligible patients would be provided in the primary care setting, such as an internist's or family physician's office. For patients who test positive for obesity with a body mass index equal to or greater than 30 kg/m2, the benefit would include one counseling visit each week for one month and then a counseling session every other week for the next five months.

A Medicare beneficiary would be eligible for an additional six months of counseling if he or she has lost at least 6.6 lbs during the first six months of counseling. More than 30% of Medicare patients are believed to be obese, according to CMS.

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Government appeals injunction on tobacco warnings

The Obama administration has appealed a federal judge's order blocking a law that requires graphic images on cigarette packages.

The Food and Drug Administration said in June that the nine text and graphic health warnings would be required to curb tobacco use and encourage users to quit smoking. The labels, scheduled to appear on packages and cartons by September 2012, include images of a man smoking through a tracheotomy hole and a dead person with a surgery-scarred chest.

On Nov. 7, Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked the warnings, ruling tobacco companies showed they probably will prevail on their claim that the mandatory images unconstitutionally force commercial speech.

The government appealed the decision on Nov. 29 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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