Viewing this in text-only format? Read RHW with hyperlinks intact www.nationalfamilyplanning.org/RHW
July 31, 2012
House Labor-HHS Markup Postponed Indefinitely; Continuing Resolution Passage Postponed
Despite last week’s rumors of a US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee markup of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) funding bill, it appears that the full committee markup has been indefinitely postponed. Congress will head into the August recess, scheduled for August 6-September 7, with a Senate Labor-HHS funding bill that has passed through both subcommittee and full committee, and a House Labor-HHS funding bill that has only passed through the subcommittee. Neither funding bill is expected to get a floor vote, but both draft bills will be important for final fiscal year (FY) 2013 funding negotiations.
More information on each chamber’s Labor-HHS funding proposals is available on NFPRHA’s website on the Title X: Budget & Appropriations Issues page and NFPRHA’s Alerts Archive webpage.
Reports indicate that the House and Senate leadership have no plans this week to move forward with a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a federal government shutdown on October 1, the beginning of FY 2013. Instead, Congress is expected to return after its recess and work on a CR that may extend federal funding through March 2013 at current FY 2012 levels. Congress would have until September 30 to pass this or another CR.
For questions or more information about appropriations, please contact Dana Thomas at dthomas@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114.
REMINDER: August 10 Deadline to Request September Meeting Travel Assistance
NFPRHA’s September Regional Meeting in Omaha, NE, will provide essential content to help your family planning health center adapt to the new health care reality. The meeting is FREE for NFPRHA members and travel assistance is available if you register by August 10. For more information and to register visit: www.nationalfamilyplanning.org/omaha.
Visit the NFPRHA website to learn more about the Life After 40: The Family Planning Network and the ACA session topics that will be offered at the meeting on September 10 and 11, and to view the preliminary agenda for the Medicaid Peer-to-Peer meeting.
NFPRHA has secured a block of rooms at the Hotel Magnolia, 1615 Howard Street, Omaha, NE, 68102 at the special reduced rate of $97 per night. To make sure you receive the negotiated rate, visit the hotel’s website or contact the hotel at 888-915-1110 and specify that you are with the NFPRHA meeting.
Reservations must be made by August 10 to receive NFPRHA's discounted rate. Remember, even travel assistance recipients are responsible for making their own hotel reservation at the group rate.
Courts Consider Challenges to Contraceptive Coverage Requirement
Two separate federal courts dismissed challenges to the contraceptive coverage requirement on procedural grounds: the law has not taken effect yet, and religious organizations have until August of 2013 to comply. Both courts concluded that challenges to the requirement were speculative and plaintiffs in the suits could not adequately prove harm by the requirement.
While the dismissal of these lawsuits is a victory for protecting contraceptive coverage, numerous challenges remain active in the federal court system, including 12 lawsuits filed by 43 Catholic institutions.
Departing from the trend, last week a Colorado-based company won a preliminary injunction in US District Court against the coverage requirement. The injunction blocking the contraceptive coverage requirement applies to the one company which filed the lawsuit and is in effect for three months while the court reviews the case.
For more information on the contraceptive coverage requirement and legal challenges to the benefit, please contact Nici Paterson at npaterson@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114.
Visit NFPRHA at the National Reproductive Health Conference in New Orleans
NFPRHA will be exhibiting at the US HHS Office of Population Affairs’ National Reproductive Health Conference, August 5 to 7, in New Orleans. Senior Policy Director Dana Thomas will participate in the conference and Lily Davidson, Director of Membership & Special Projects, will staff NFPRHA’s booth in the Exhibit Hall.
Please stop by our booth to say hello and to learn more about NFPRHA’s more recent work to increase low-income access to family planning and how NFPRHA is helping the field prepare for ACA implementation.
Look your best at the conference in a NFPRHA t-shirt! NFPRHA’s “I ♥ family planning” t-shirts and baby onesies will be on sale at the booth. NFPRHA’s “Family Planning, Everybody’s Doing It” t-shirts will be also be available for purchase.
Please encourage your colleagues who are not NFPRHA members to stop by the NFPRHA booth. Non-members will be eligible to enter a drawing to win a free NFPRHA professional membership!
Call for Presenters: NFPRHA September Regional Meeting in Omaha
In preparation for the NFPRHA Regional Meeting in Omaha on September 10 and 11, the Life After 40: the Family Planning Network and the ACA project is seeking additional experts from the membership who would be willing to participate in a panel discussion during the meeting. Please see below for descriptions of the Life After 40 program panels and the information presenters would be expected to cover.
Workshop: Readiness Assessment & Environmental Scan
Monday, September 10, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. CT
The Affordable Care Act brings numerous changes to how family planning providers operate and deliver services. This hands-on workshop will provide technical assistance to help participants complete a readiness assessment and environmental scan and understand how this data can assist their organization adapt to change.
- Opening Presentations: For this panel, NFPRHA seeks a presenter from an organization that has completed a readiness assessment on a variety of factors that have become important in the new environment of health reform, and whose organization has already developed a plan to address the issues identified in the assessment. This presenter should be prepared to describe the process, to describe the organization’s current status of implementing its readiness plan, and to speak generally about his or her experiences.
- Technical Assistance Workshop: Presenters will be expected to work directly with participants, coaching them on how to perform a readiness assessment and/or how to interpret the results and create a plan to address the issues identified in the assessment.
How to Maximize Your Operations with Shared or Purchased Services
Tuesday, September 11, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. CT
This session will explore which types of services can be shared or purchased to improve organizations’ operations and productivity and the key factors to help determine which model is best for an organization. NFPRHA seeks presenters who either offer shared services to other organizations or who are currently receiving some services from an outside supplier of shared services. Specific services of interest include administration and finance, billing and collections, IT services, human resources, and purchasing.
If you feel that you have expertise in any of the areas listed above and would be willing to work with the Life After 40 project to present at the meeting, please contact Kathy Miller, Project Director for Life After 40 at kmiller@nfprha.org or 202-258-8917.
House Republicans Again Ask for 340B Patient Definition
House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) and Subcommittee member Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have again urged Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) leader Mary Wakefield to issue more specific guidance on the definition of a 340B patient. In a July 18 letter to Dr. Wakefield, the members of Congress expressed their concerns with the growth of the 340B program and stated that they have information that shows the program has deviated from its original intent. According to their letter, the 340B program was intended for individuals who are “medically uninsured, on marginal incomes, and have no other sources to turn to for preventive primary care services.”
Congressional Republicans have been steadily building a case for stronger oversight of the 340B program and expressing their concerns that discounted prescription drugs are going to those ineligible for the program. Click here to access the letter.
For more information on the 340B prescription drug program, contact Dana Thomas at dthomas@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114.
Follow NFPRHA on Facebook.
Donate Now! Support NFPRHA's mission to provide accessible family planning and reproductive health care services and build a stronger society.
Are you a Federal Employee? Contribute to NFPRHA through the Combined Federal Campaign. Our number is 12159.
|