Dear Policy Watchers,
Do lawmakers in DC seem distracted from their jobs? There’s lots of hyper-partisan activity on impeachment inquiry – with Republicans complaining about process and storming closed-door depositions and a resolution introduced in the Senate to condemn House impeachment inquiry. One of their own, Elijah Cummings, was laid to rest after a ceremony and lying in state in the Capitol (the first African American legislator to have that honor), and a moving funeral in nearby Baltimore. And, of course, the home baseball team has kept a lot of lawmakers and staffers up late with their first ever appearance in the World Series with games 3, 4 and 5 here in DC! (GO NATS!)
But apparently lawmakers do know how to “walk and chew gum” at the same time. Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was grilled by skeptical congressmen at hearing regarding oversight CMS’s “Medicaid Work Requirement” waivers – a program opposed by NACDD and several State DD Councils. The Senate made modest progress on 2020 appropriations by voting 92-2 to take up four of its 12 annual bills as a substitute for a House-passed package, but negotiations continue the rest, including our Labor/HHS appropriation. (But we are starting to hear rumors of another continuing resolution around Thanksgiving.)
And there's more news...
Disability Policy on the Front Page. Former Texas congressman and Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke spoke at length about his sister, who has an intellectual disability, in an interview this week with the Washington Post. O’Rourke credited his sister for influencing his views on disability policy and pledged to release a full disability policy platform soon. As the 2020 Democratic nomination race quickly approaches its first caucuses and primaries (now less than 3 months away!) and many of the candidates have now publicly addressed major disability policy issues, we’re hoping O’Rourke’s platform spurs discussion on the national stage about the importance of creating policy that considers the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Keep an ear out for news about REV UP and AAPD’s presidential forum on disability issues on January 13th in Austin, Texas—they’re likely to release a list of attending candidates soon.
Legislation on Prescription Drug Coverage and Dental for Medicare Part B advance in House. There was significant movement on NACDD priority legislation this week when the Ways and Means Committee became the third and final committee of jurisdiction to advance the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3). The House seems primed to pass this significant revision to Medicare prescription drug benefit and in commercial health plans before Thanksgiving. And despite the chilly climate between the Speaker and the President created by the impeachment inquiry, both seems to see potential in prescription drug reform as a big political win going into an election year. The new approach achieves savings without relying on a national formulary and ensuring that lower prices are passed on to consumers and beneficiaries through lower cost-sharing. It also bars the Secretary from using research that relies on discriminatory measures like quality adjusted life years in the negotiation process. The committee-passed H.R. 3 reinvests savings into a comprehensive oral health benefit to Medicare Part B, identical to another legislative priority for NACDD. (See H.R. 4650, the Medicare Dental Act of 2019, which amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of dental services under the Medicare program).
Conversations about Improving Healthcare. NACDD was part of the planning group for a Grand Rounds session held last week by the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). An all-star panel of Liz Weintraub, Tim Shriver, Dr. Susan Havercamp, and Dr. Georgina Peacock gave presentations and answered questions about the importance of healthcare for people with I/DD and to discuss the gaps in care. In attendance were NCBDDD’s medical professionals and staff as well as members of related I/DD organizations, and our community was excited to provide input in the conversations about needed healthcare changes with an important federal organization.
Learning about Assisted Technology Abroad. Next month, members of several disability organizations will be meeting at NACDD with representatives from Israeli assisted-technology companies to learn about developments in assisted technology on the other side of the globe. One of the benefits of increasing globalization is the ability for new tech and ideas to spread more quickly, and we’re excited to see what hear from a country that is known for its tech startups and progressive disability policies about advancements that might improve the lives of people in the U.S. Stay tuned for updates from NACDD CEO Donna Meltzer following this meeting.
Thank you for your continued advocacy!
Sincerely,
