Hearings? Theater.
Behind the curtain matters
As much as the stage.
Federal Updates
Our thanks – your homework
It was around a year ago that our haikus became a more regular feature of the weekly newsletter. For us, it was somewhat of a catharctic release during an extremely challenging and scary time that we hoped brought some fun and a little levity to your Friday morning reading. Since then, we’ve not only grown our readership but have also worked to find ways to make the occasionally mundane and procedural news coming from Washington, D.C. feel even more accessible to your work.
We are grateful that you’re here – for your feedback – and for inspiring us to do what we do with all that we can.
To show our appreciation, we’d like to turn the tables a bit and recognize you. For the month of June, we want to reserve the top spot of this newsletter each week to feature some of your original poetry (haiku, couplet, cinquain, limerick – have fun) that is uniquely themed to your work. Granted, there are some selfish motivations behind this offer – primarily the fact that we enjoy making connections, and we’ll bet there are a number of you doing exciting things (in all aspects of Duke Health) that we’d love to have on our radar.
Entering your submission is easy – just email it to dukegovrelations@dm.duke.edu – and we look forward to hearing from YOU.
Infrastructure weeks?
Infrastructure week is becoming infrastructure weeks. The White House has put down its marker with the combined $4 trillion American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. Senate Republicans have put forth their own $568 billion “opening offer.” House Democrats are putting forth ideas on how to round out the details of the administration’s plans, including the LIFT America Act (H.R. 1848), which includes strategic investments in hospital and clinical laboratory infrastructure. Now, House Republicans are joining in with their own $400 billion proposal released this week focused heavily on transportation-related infrastructure, including investments in highways, bridges, and mass transit systems.
The Biden administration maintains that it remains open to bipartisan negotiations of an infrastructure package, but the divide over scope and how to potentially pay for legislation has only widened in recent weeks. While the word is rarely spoken aloud by Democratic policymakers, another attempt through the budget reconciliation process may be the only path forward on legislation exceeding trillions of dollars.
The North Carolina Hospital Association sent a letter this week to the North Carolina congressional delegation advocating for hospital and healthcare infrastructure to be prioritized in infrastructure discussions. Our office continues to monitor the release of proposals, legislation, and negotiations.
Eric Lander moves closer to confirmation for top OSTP post
The Senate Commerce Committee approved Biden Cabinet nominee Eric Lander to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in a bipartisan voice vote on Thursday. President Biden made the head of OSTP a Cabinet-level position shortly after taking office as a signal of his commitment to integrating science into the administration’s decision-making. Dr. Lander, a top geneticist and director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is the last of the President’s nominees to be confirmed. A final Senate vote is anticipated soon.
Senate Finance holds hearing on COVID-19 flexibilities, telehealth
The Senate Finance Committee, of which Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) is a member, held a hearing this week entitled, “COVID-19 Healthcare Flexibilities: Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned.” Much like other congressional hearings held this year focused on the benefits of digital health, members of the Committee and witnesses largely agreed that the current flexibilities for telehealth and the acute care hospital at home program should continue beyond the current public health emergency. The primary point of any substantive disagreement was just how long such extensions should last, with some advocating for immediate permanent extension of telehealth flexibilities, while others supported short-term extensions to allow time for more patient and provider data to be collected. Of note, several witnesses also called for the continuation of audio-only access for certain services as a bridge for those in underserved communities without broadband or appropriate audio-visual technology. The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicare coverage and federal Medicaid services issues.
HELP subcommittee examines healthcare workforce
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security held a hearing this week entitled, “A Dire Shortage and Getting Worse: Solving the Crisis in the Healthcare Workforce.” President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) David Skorton, MD was among the witnesses invited to testify. In his testimony, Skorton noted that AAMC projects a shortage of between 54,100 and 139,000 physicians in the United States by 2033 as population growth and demand continues to outpace supply. He further spoke of the importance of diversity in recruitment and training of new physicians, opportunities to encourage healthcare access in rural communities, and the need to address the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of healthcare professionals, who are at increased risk of burnout.
Senate Judiciary subcommittee focuses on hospital consolidations
Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights held a hearing entitled, “Antitrust Applied: Hospital Consolidation Concerns and Solutions.” Specifically, the Committee examined the impact of hospital consolidation on patients’ health care costs, health care workers, and innovation. Policy experts invited to testify offered a range of solutions to try to restore the competitive balance and prevent anticompetitive transactions. Some of the solutions outlined included strengthening the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice so they can review more transactions; implementing site-neutral policy to level payments across independent practices and hospital-owned outpatient departments; repealing certificate of need laws; overhauling clinician licensing regulations; and removing network adequacy laws that stifle competition and innovation.
Senate Aging Committee spotlights Alzheimer’s care
This week, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, of which Senator Burr is a member, held a hearing entitled, “Taking Aim at Alzheimer’s: Frontline Perspectives and Caregiver Challenges.” The hearing discussion focused on critical research needs to provide better treatments, care, and outcomes for those living with Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s related dementias with witnesses and some committee members calling for even further investments in the public health research infrastructure.
Congress passes AAPI anti-discrimination and anti-violence legislation
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation in a bipartisan vote aimed at combating the sharp rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans that have occurred since the start of the pandemic. President Biden signed the bill into law this week.
The legislation creates a position at the Department of Justice to expedite a review of COVID-19-related hate crimes; provides grants for states to create hotlines for reporting hate crimes and for law enforcement training on how to prevent and identify hate crimes; and directs federal agencies to work with community organizations to raise awareness about hate crimes during the pandemic.
Separately, the House voted Wednesday to pass a resolution condemning the shooting rampage at three Asian-owned spas in the greater Atlanta area in March that claimed the lives of eight people, including six women of Asian descent. More broadly, the resolution reaffirms the commitment of the House and the federal government “to combat hate, bigotry, and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.” Passage of both the resolution and hate crimes legislation comes during Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Senators Tillis and Bennet aim to strengthen Strategic National Stockpile
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) reintroduced legislation designed to strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile. The Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act would allocate $500 million over the next three years to further build out the nation’s reserve of medical supplies. The legislation aims to incentivize domestic manufacturers to strengthen their supply chains and create reserves of personal protective equipment, testing and vaccines supplies, and other medical equipment, as part of an effort to prepare for future emergencies. The bill will be filed as an amendment to The Endless Frontier Act, legislation to support further investment in science and technology in the U.S., which is currently advancing in the Senate.
From our desk(s): Duke Health GR this week
It turns out that April showers bring May meetings… and hearings… so many hearings. This week, our team connected a Duke Health pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) expert with staff of Rep. David Price (D-NC-04) to discuss her research as well as potential opportunities to better prioritize pediatric TBI and trauma in federal funding mechanisms.
As the Senate HELP Committee continues its background work in developing comprehensive pandemic preparedness legislation, we coordinated a meeting for experts from the Duke Institute of Health Innovation to meet with staff of ranking member Richard Burr. They shared their experience standing up the Pandemic Response Network during the early stages of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the benefit of establishing public-private partnerships to respond to emergencies.
Additionally, our team worked with the Duke Telehealth Office to provide updated Duke Health telehealth use data to the office of Senator Burr in advance of the Finance Committee hearing referenced above. Our data collection efforts have become a model for other health system’s responding to congressional requests to better understand telehealth’s utilization and outcomes during the public health emergency.
Want to Join Team Advocacy?
Thanks to the PDC and our partners in the Duke State Relations office, Duke Health physicians and providers can engage with policymakers through the PDC Provider Advocacy Network.
By enrolling in the Phone2Action advocacy tool, individuals can join a powerful, collective voice on priority healthcare issues debated in Raleigh and Washington, D.C., including telehealth, workforce, drug pricing, and many more.
Learn more here. (NOTE: You must register and use a non-Duke email address to receive action alerts.)