The ASN Policy Board presents the September issue of Renal Policy Express.
In This Issue...
- Policy Board Update
Updates including the ASN Policy Board annual retreat and the ASN Policy Board Public Forum scheduling for Renal Week.
- Regulatory Issues
The ASN is set to present testimony at FDA hearing and article on the administrative burden of Medicare.
- National Institutes of Health
Peer Review Advisory Committee Adds Eight New Members.
- Congressional Actions
Learn about an upcoming hearing on organ donation and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
- Other
2006 USRDS Annual Data Report Summarized in Special Article.
1. Policy Board Update
ASN Policy Board Holds Annual Retreat in Portland, Maine
The ASN Policy Board held its annual retreat in Portland, Maine on August 25, 2007. It was a very successful meeting with an ambitious agenda that included the formulation of a legislative agenda for Congress and a strategic agenda for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The Board also discussed plans for World Kidney Day 2008 and discussed issues such as CKD screening, eGFRs, and research in dialysis units. The meeting was led by Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD, chair of the Policy Board and was attended by Board members: Connie Davis, MD, Bill Harmon, MD, Tom Hostetter, MD, Brian Pereira, MD, and Lynda Szczech, MD. Paul Klotman, MD, has recently joined the Policy Board but was unable to attend the retreat. ASN Staff members Paul Smedberg, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, and Susan Owens, Senior Policy Coordinator, were also in attendance.
Public Policy Forum Scheduled for Renal Week
The ASN Public Policy Board Forum will be held from 1:30-3:30 on Saturday, November 3, 2007 in Room 304 of the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. The subject will be “The Past, Present, and Future of Clinical Nephrology Practice” and will be moderated by Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD, and Connie Davis, MD. Confirmed speakers include Barry Straube, MD, Director & Chief Clinical Officer, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS, Peter DeOreo, MD from Case Western School of Medicine and Allen Nissenson, MD, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles.
2. Regulatory Issues
ASN to Present Testimony at FDA Hearing in September
Drs. Jonathan Himmelfarb and Lynda Szczech will represent the ASN on September 11, 2007 at an Open Public Hearing at the Joint meeting of the Cardiovascular & Renal Drugs and Drug Safety & Risk Management Advisory Committee. In anticipation of the meeting, the ASN submitted a statement of our views which you can read here.
The list of other scheduled witnesses includes the following:
David Van Wyck, MD – National Kidney Foundation
Alan Kliger, MD – Renal Physicians Assocation
Lori Hartwell – Renal Support Network
Kris Robinson – American Association of Kidney Patients
Michael Lazarus, MD – Fresenius Medical Care
CMS Physician Writes Article Addressing the Administrative Burden of Medicare
William D. Rogers, MD, FACEP, Medical Officer in the Office of the Administrator Director at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has written an article describing steps made by CMS to address the burden caused by its copious amounts of statutes and regulations. The article discusses the Practicing Physicians Advisory Council (PPAC), the CMS’ Open Door Forum (ODF), and the Physicians Regulatory Issues Team (PRIT) and can be read here: http://www.medicarepatientmanagement.com/issues/02-04/mpmJA07-BurdenRogers-0626.pdf
3. National Institutes of Health
Peer Review Advisory Committee Adds Eight New Members
According to a recent NIH press release, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni, MD, has appointed eight new members to the NIH Peer Review Advisory Committee. This committee provides technical and scientific advice on matters related to the procedures and policies governing the scientific and technical evaluation of NIH grant applications. The Peer Review Advisory Committee meets 2-3 times a year and advises the NIH Director, the NIH Deputy Director for NIH Extramural Research and the Director of the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The committee is co-chaired by Toni Scarpa, MD, PhD, Director of CSR, and Jeremy Berg, PhD, Director of the National Institute of General Medical Specialties.
To read the entire press release and to learn about the eight new members, visit http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2007/csr-28.htm.
4. Congressional Actions
Hearing on Organ Donation Planned for Late September
The Information Policy and Census Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is planning a hearing to discuss issues surrounding organ donation and the inability to meet organ transplant demands. The first panel of witnesses will potentially include representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The second panel will likely consist of living donors and recipients. The hearing has been set for September 25, 2007 from 2-4pm.
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Legislation
SCHIP, a state-federal partnership that covers about 6 million children from low-income families that are not poor enough for to qualify for Medicaid, is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2007 if congressional action is not taken. Both the Senate and House of Representatives have passed legislation to expand this program.
The House version of the SCHIP legislation proposes cuts of up to $3.2 billion from the End-Stage Renal Disease Program over the next 10 years. Groups such as Kidney Care Partners (KCP) have spoken out against these cuts. The House bill also includes a measure that would prevent Medicare physician pay cuts for the next two years by turning the 9.9% and 5% Medicare payment reductions expected in 2008 and 2009 into 0.5% increases for each year. The Senate bill does not include similar measures.
ESRD-specific provisions in the House version include:
- CKD demonstration projects to increase education, screening, and surveillance
- Medicare-covered kidney disease patient education services
- Required training of dialysis technicians
- Required Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report on the barriers to home dialysis
- Epogen reimbursement cut to $8.75 per thousand unites for large dialysis organizations. Aranesp reimbursements cut to $2.92 per microgram for large dialysis organizations.
- Hospital-based dialysis facilities will be reimbursed at the same rate as non-hospital-based dialysis clinics.
- A bundled payment system will be implemented by 2010 with a reimbursement rate equal to 96 percent of all ESRD payments in an unbundled system.
- Quality incentive payments based on measures
As Congress reconvenes following the August recess, a conference committee will attempt to draft a compromise between the two substantially different bills. President Bush has threatened to veto both of them, arguing that they provide for too large an expansion of government-run health care. The Senate bill passed with a veto-proof version; the House bill did not.
5. Other
2006 USRDS Annual Data Report Summarized in Special Article
A summary of the key findings from the 2006 USRDS Annual Data Report will be published in a Special Article in the October Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) written by Drs. Robert Foley and Allan J. Collins of the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) and the University of Minnesota. According to the article, progress has been made in prevention and treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but the costs have skyrocketed, accounting for 6.7 percent of total Medicare expenditures.
You can read the ASN press release about this article here.
You can view the complete ESRD update on the USRDS website at: www.usrds.org/adr.htm.
We hope that you have enjoyed this version of ASN's Renal Policy Express. Please refer any questions or comments regarding this newsletter to policy@asn-online.org.
Paul Smedberg, Director, Policy and Public Affairs
Susan Owens, Policy and Public Affairs Coordinator
