2011
Congressional Testimony on Repealing the IPAB — (7/13/2011) The Heart Rhythm Society is a member of the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, a coalition of national medical societies representing specialty physicians. On Wednesday, July 13, the Alliance testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Alex B. Valada, MD, the Alliance’s spokesperson, discussed the reasons why the Alliance supports the full repeal of IPAB. Learn more »
Senators ask CMS to Withdraw ACO Proposed Rule — (5/24/2011) On May 24, seven Senate Finance Committee Republicans sent a letter to the Obama administration expressing their concerns about the accountable care organizations (ACO) proposed rule. In its letter they asked the Administration to withdraw its proposed rule and craft a new rule that “fulfills the promise of ACOs.” Learn more »
Comments Sought for ONC's Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (3/30/2011) — The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: 2011-2015, updated to take into account the rapidly changing landscape of health IT and health IT policy. This plan details ONC’s efforts to coordinate its collaboration with other federal partners and stakeholders when putting Congress’ and the Administration’s health IT agenda into motion by 2015. ONC is encouraging comments from the public regarding the plan; the public comment period closes April 22. Learn more »
House Passes Repeal of Form 1099 Requirements (3/9/2011) — On March 3, the U.S House of Representatives followed the U.S. Senate in approving the repeal of IRS Form 1099 reporting requirements, which were included in the health care reform law. To become law, the House and Senate need to pass identical legislations and Congress must reconcile methods to pay for the repeal. Learn more »
Federal Judge Rules Health Care Reform Unconstitutional; Parties Scramble to Discern Impact (2/9/2011) — U.S. Federal Judge Roger Vinson has ruled that the health care law requiring Americans to obtain commercial insurance (known as the “individual mandate") is unconstitutional. Because he ruled that the insurance requirement was “inextricably bound” to other provisions of the Affordable Care Act, he repealed the entire law rather than base his decision on the “individual mandate.” Several Republicans have begun efforts to repeal health care reform legislatively, while the Obama administration continues to ask federal agencies to implement the law. Learn more »
Tax Reporting Requirements Repealed in Senate; House Expected to Act (2/9/2011) — Despite maneuvering by both political parties to either repeal or maintain U.S. President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform legislation, a particular provision decried by small businesses throughout the U.S. was repealed by a large margin of bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. The provision required the filing of 1099 tax documents on all cumulative purchases from a single vendor. It was considered particularly burdensome for physicians and other health professionals who work in small practices. The Small Business Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a full committee hearing Wednesday, February 9 to discuss repealing the same 1099 reporting requirements. Learn more »
2010
Take Action: Bill to Repeal IPAB Introduced in Senate (7/28/2010) — On Tuesday, July 27, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the "Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act" (S.3653), which would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The IPAB was created to control Medicare spending as a part of the new health care reform law. Beginning in 2015, IPAB will recommend Medicare spending cuts to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare in years when spending exceeds a targeted growth rate. Please take action and protect Medicare patients' access to heart rhythm care by contacting your legislators and asking them to sign-on as co-sponsors. Learn more »
