Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, discusses President Bush's veto threat on legislation that would expand and reauthorize SCHIP, renewal of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and mental health parity legislation in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork and CQ."

According to Carey, the Senate voted 67-29 to approve the SCHIP measure, enough votes to override a veto by Bush, while the House fell short of a veto-proof majority but passed the measure 265-159. Bush, who has said he would veto the bill, is opposed to increasing SCHIP spending by more than $5 billion over five years. A continuing budget resolution will provide $5 billion to fund SCHIP programs in 13 states through Nov. 16. According to Carey, Bush wants to reach a compromise with Congress, but if that does not occur, it is likely that there will be a series of short-term extensions as both sides attempt to reach a resolution.

Carey adds that the Senate Finance Committee is drafting a Medicare package that would stop a scheduled 10% cut in Medicare physician payments, require pharmacies participating in the Medicaid drug benefit to be paid promptly for their services and likely extend bonus payments to rural health care providers. The package likely would be financed by cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, Carey says.

Carey also discusses a law signed by Bush that reauthorizes PDUFA and grants FDA new powers to regulate drugs and medical devices. Under the law, FDA would be able to require drug companies to make changes to product labels, review direct-to-consumer advertisements before they air and fine companies for airing false or misleading ads, Carey says. In addition, the law creates a public database of clinical trial results and reauthorizes a program that grants six-months market exclusivity for drugs that have a demonstrated pediatric use, among other provisions.

Lastly, Carey says that the Senate by voice vote approved a measure that would require the majority of health insurance plans to offer mental health benefits that are equal in size and scope to standard medical and surgical benefits. Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee has approved a different version of the bill that includes a broader definition of the conditions that insurers would be required to cover. According to Carey, the measure likely will pass the House and move to conference committee.

The complete audio version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.