SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition July 29, 2011 7/29/11 1 SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition National News Thomas More Center Appeals Health Reform Lawsuit to the Supreme Court; HHS Rejects North Dakota222s MLR Waiver, Grants Waivers for Iowa and Kentucky U.S. Army to Hire 130 Substance Abuse Counselors Seven Top Selling Brand- Name Drugs to Come 223Off Patent,224 Including Behavioral Health Medication Sen. Kerry and Rep. Stark Introduce Bills to Raise Medigap MLRs Studies Released CMS Office of the Actuary Predicts Rising Health Care Spending Growth Through 2020 Update: CBO Finds Bill to Adjust Income Calculations Under Health Reform would Affect Fewer Than One Million Americans JAMA Study Finds Medicare Part D Associated with Reduced Non - Drug Spending Stateline Examines the Obama Administration222s Proposal to 223Blend224 Reimbursement Rates Moody222s Says State Medicaid Cuts will Affect Hospitals KFF Examines States222 Progress Towards Health Insurance Exch anges KFF Tools Examine Medicare Provisions in Deficit and Debt Reduction Proposals Around the Hill: Hearings on Health Financing To Subscribe to SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse, please go to the following link and choose 223Health Care Financing224: https://service.govdelivery.com/service/multi_subscribe.html?code=USSAMHSA&origin=http://www.samhsa.go v/enetwork/success.aspx For questions or comments, please contact Rasheda Parks ( Rasheda.Parks@samhsa.hhs.gov ). AMHS A222s Financing News Pulse is a news consolidation service, designed to provide readers with streamlined access to information published by local, regional, and national media. While the News Pulse attempts to verify our content, the editors of each publication cited in the summaries are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the information they publish. We encourage readers to inform the News Pulse of any errors so we can note them in future editions; however, we also suggest that they contact the media source directly. SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition July 29, 2011 7/29/11 3 Studies Released CMS Office of the Actuary Predicts Rising Health Care Spending Growth Through 2020: Published July 28 in Health Affairs , the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services222 Office of the Actuary released a report , finding that health care spending will grow an average of 5.8 percent annually through 2020. The report estimates the increasing growth rate will drive the U.S. to spend $4.6 trillion on health care in 2020, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and accounting for nearly 20 percent of the U.S. economy. The report predicts that the growth rate will increase to 8.3 when health reform222s coverage expansion takes effect in 2014, returning to 6 .2 percent between 2015 and 2020. However, despite the rising growth rate, t he report predicts the average yearly health care cost growth will increase only .1 percent more than it would without health care reform. The authors also estimate the effects of health reform on health care payers, noting that federal, state, and local government spending will increase 4 percent to account for 49 percent of all spending in 2020, while employers222 share declines to 18 percent. The report notes that federal spending will drive the shift towards public payers, with the federal share of health care spending increasing from 27 percent in 2009 to 31 percent in 2020. Finally, the report estimates that the number of Americans with employer -sponsored insurance will reach 1 70 million in 2014 but decline to 168 million by 2020 ( Kaiser Health News, 7/28 ; The Hill, 7/28 ; AP via Washington Post, 7/28 ; CNN, 7/28 ; Kaiser Health News, 7/28 ). Update : CBO Finds Bill to Adjust Income Calculation s Under Health Reform would Affect Fewer Than One Million Americans: On July 22, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis , finding that legislation ( S. 1376) amending the income calculations used to determine health reform benefit eligibility will prevent fewer than one million individuals from accessing Medicaid . Under current law, health reform does not include Social Security benefits as income when determ ining eligibility for Medicaid or subsidized coverage through the law222s health exchanges. The new bills would count Social Security as income, reducing eligibility and saving an estimated $13 billion over 10 years ( The Hill, 7/25 ) . JAMA Study Finds Medicare Part D Associated with Reduced Non - Drug Spending: A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that that the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D) was associated with a significant decline in non -drug expenditures among enrollees with previously inadequate drug coverage. By increasing access to medication and adherence to drug regimens, the study found that Part D reduced hospital and nursing home s pending on acute and post acute care. Among the roughly 10 million beneficiaries with previously inadequate care, the authors found that spending on non- drug services declining by $1,200 per capita ( Bloomberg, 7/26 ; AP via FoxNews, 7/26 ; PBS NewsHour, 7/26 ; Kaise r Health News, 7/27 ). Stateline Examines the Obama Administration222s Proposal to 223Blend224 Reimbursement Rates : On July 28 , the Pew Center on the States 222 non- partisan non- profit news service Stateline released a primer on Medicaid financing, exploring the changes offered under the Obama Administration222s plan to 223blend224 rates for Medicaid and the Children222s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Offered as an alternative to the GOP budget plan that passed in the U.S. House on April 15, rather than convert Medicaid into a block grant program, President Obama222s proposal would blend th e CHIP rate, the existing Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid, and the rate set to apply to newly covered Medicaid enrollees under health reform222s 2014 expansion . Though the Administra tion has yet SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition July 29, 2011 7/29/11 5 House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management : Improper Medicare Payments July 28 9:30 a.m. 2247 Rayburn House Veterans222 Affairs Subcommittee on Health : Veterans Health Bills July 28, 9:30 a.m. 340 Cannon House Small Business Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology : Health Care Overhaul Law and Small Business Health Coverage July 2 8 10:00 a.m. 2360 Rayburn House Appropriations Committee : Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Labor, HHS, Education August 2, Time TBA. 2359 Rayburn