To know where we go
Is to recall where we’ve been
Without looking back
Publication Note: Congress will be away from D.C. soon for the August recess, so our newsletter is planning to take a brief pause. We will resume our normal publication schedule after Labor Day. Be on the lookout for a special edition should there be relevant breaking news
For the latest news in the meantime, please follow us on Twitter @DukeGovRel or join the Duke Health Advocacy Network Teams channel (more information below).
The Rundown
- A recess point of personal privilege
- Senate Finance Committee holds hearing on UNOS
- Biden issues EO on reproductive healthcare access
- Administration declares monkeypox PHE
- The latest from our desks
- Join Duke Health Advocacy Network
Federal Updates
Point of Personal Privilege: What’s now, what’s next, and why we do it
It’s not always easy being optimistic, especially in an environment that, perhaps charitably, has been described for much of the past few years as “uncertain.” Among the reasons is that optimism is, at its core, an action word. One can’t passively be optimistic – at least not for long. It requires work, a commitment to something outside of self, and principled determination. That’s us. That’s you. That’s Duke Health. We maintain optimism because we actively pursue it.
Now, the August recess period is upon us following a busy spring and summer session. It’s a time for some respite and reflection, as well as a moment to remember that amid existing and new policy challenges, we also have plenty of reason to be encouraged. The passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety reform legislation in decades, would not have happened without broad community advocacy and the perspectives and experiences of health system leaders across the country. This includes the voices of DUHS leadership, with whom our team connected with the office of Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), a lead negotiator of the final bill. The House has passed legislation to extend through the end of 2024 public health emergency (PHE) related Medicare telehealth expansion waivers and flexibilities, with every member of the NC House congressional delegation voting in favor of the bill. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision on federal reproductive rights in Dobbs, Congress has mobilized in various efforts to introduce legislation in support of federal guarantees for reproductive rights, marriage equality, and access to contraceptives.
There was also a massive and successful campaign led by hospitals and healthcare providers across the country, including Duke Health, to have the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) increase payment rates in the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) CY 2023 final rule. Even now, as you’re reading this, Senate leaders are working through the complicated budget reconciliation process to pass healthcare and climate legislation, now known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which would include a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, prescription drug reform, and investments in climate change policies and deficit reduction.
Granted, successful regulatory interventions and reconciliation processes require layered optimism, but you don’t revive and reinvent major priorities without it.
So, what comes next? We have work to do, and a good bit of the fall agenda foundation will be laid behind the scenes over the next few weeks of recess. Just some of the issues still pending and important to Duke Health include finalizing FY 2023 funding for DUHS priorities, FDA user fees reauthorization legislation, protecting the 340B drug pricing program, preventing additional Medicare sequester cuts, and addressing healthcare workforce challenges. And that may just get us through the end of 2022.
We’re also thinking much further ahead, fostering new relationships, expanding our policy footprint in service of the health system, evaluating shifting federal priorities, planning for the 118th Congress, and preparing to welcome new members to the NC congressional delegation. There will be obstacles, good days, bad, but we’re energized. Why? Because we’re optimistic.
Senate Finance Committee holds hearing to update on investigation into the organ transplant system
This week the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing entitled “A System in Need of Repair: Addressing Organizational Failures of the U.S.’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.” The hearing provided updates on a multi-year investigation by Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Todd Young (R-IN) into the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and concerns with UNOS’s oversight of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), specifically concerning its policy compliance and patient safety activities related to organ procurement organizations (OPOs).
Witnesses for the hearing included Brian Shepard, Chief Executive Officer for UNOS, and other individuals and transplant recipients representing OPOs across the U.S. UNOS faced criticism from committee members during the hearing, largely focused on technology challenges, patient safety, and organizational responsiveness to complaints. Many of these issues were outlined in a staff memo for the hearing that was placed into the official hearing record.
In his statement, Chairman Wyden noted that “our investigation is ongoing. It’s clear this system needs reform badly. We’re going to continue digging into issues at UNOS and the OPOs, as well as the policies that need changing at the federal level.”
Biden issues EO on securing access to reproductive healthcare services
This week, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) on Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Healthcare Services, intended to build on actions that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to protect access to reproductive healthcare services in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.
The EO includes actions directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: consider action to advance access to reproductive healthcare services, including through Medicaid for patients who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare services; consider all appropriate actions to ensure healthcare providers comply with Federal non-discrimination laws so that women receive medically necessary care without delay; and promote research and data collection on maternal health outcomes to accurately measure the impact that diminishing access to reproductive healthcare services has on women’s health.
President Biden signed the EO at the inaugural meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access. The Task Force, supported by the Office of the Vice President and co-chaired by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and the Director of the White House Gender Policy Council, Jennifer Klein, coordinates and drives efforts across the Federal government to protect access to reproductive healthcare services and defend reproductive rights.
More information and analysis of the EO can be found on the digital White House fact sheet.
Biden administration declares monkeypox PHE
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced that it is declaring monkeypox a public health emergency (PHE). The decision is intended to speed up the distribution of vaccines and expand testing as the outbreak continues to spread.
“This public health emergency will allow us to explore additional strategies to get vaccines and treatments more quickly out to impacted communities,” White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Robert Fenton said. “And it will allow us to get more data from jurisdictions so we can effectively track and attack this outbreak.”
The declaration comes as more than 6,600 monkeypox infections have been reported in the United States, a number that has risen sharply in recent weeks and includes 1,200 new infections in the past few days.
From our desk(s): Duke Health GR this week
This week our team has expanded strategic efforts to build support in Congress for the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 7961). Most recently, we coordinated outreach on behalf of Duke University Health System Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Craig Albanese to members of the NC congressional delegation to encourage co-sponsorship of the bill. The SAVE Act would give healthcare workers the same legal protections against assault and intimidation that are currently in place under federal law for flight crews and airport workers. Currently, Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC-02) is a cosponsor of the bill.
Our office coordinated outreach on behalf of Duke Connected Care (DCC) at Duke Health support for the Value in Health Care Act (H.R. 4587), which would make important updates to the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Members of our team presented to DUHS nursing leadership on federal updates to nursing policy.
We are continuing advocacy efforts in support of federal telehealth expansion and joined national strategy session conversations in preparation for the Senate’s expected fall consideration of the House-passed Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (H.R. 4040), which would extend through the end of 2024 PHE-related Medicare telehealth flexibilities and waivers.
Finally, a member of our team attended the 2022 Project Medical Education (PME) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). The PME program is a hands-on, interactive learning program intended to inform policymakers and their staffs, community leaders, donors, and others about the process of becoming a doctor, the three missions and work of medical schools and teaching hospitals, and the financial and other challenges posed to both students and institutions. The PME program provides participants with a unique opportunity for an up close look at medical education and the day-to-day activities that take place at academic medical centers such as Columbia. Duke Health has hosted PME programs in the past and we look forward to planning for a future event.
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