Policy Corner: March 25, 2022

CBITF Provides FY 2022 Appropriations Update: Correction

President Biden signed the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022 Tuesday, March 15. The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force (CBITF) staff, upon further review, has reported that $500,000 for a total of $5.75 million was appropriated for the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The $500,000 set-aside is for concussion surveillance. (Previously, we reported a $2 million increase for the surveillance system.) The CBITF staff is now checking on the numbers for the Administration for Community Living (ACL) TBI program.

Meanwhile, the president is to release his FY 2023 recommendations for funding beginning Oct. 1 Monday, March 28. The CBITF co-chairs, Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) will be circulating a “dear colleague” letter to gather support for increased funding for ACL and CDC TBI programs and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is preparing a similar letter to circulate among senate colleagues. 

Senate Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on the Defense Health Program

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense Chair Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member, Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), will hold a hearing on the Department of Defense Health Program. The Defense Health Agency is a joint, integrated Combat Support Agency that enables the Army, Navy, and Air Force medical services to provide a medically ready force to military members both in peacetime and wartime. 

BIAA Supports Designating People with Disabilities as Part of Health Disparity Population

The Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), of which the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is a steering committee member, is writing to Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) urging consideration of designating people with disabilities as a “health disparity population” for purposes of federal research conducted at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and across the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIMHD, in consultation with Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), has the authority under the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 to designate populations as “health disparity populations” if there is “a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rates in the population as compared to the health status of the general population.” This designation allows NIMHD and the entire NIH to conduct prioritized and focused research on the causes of disparities and methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat such disparities among the target populations.

PHE Expiration Will Impact Medicaid Recipients

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra extended the COVID-related public health emergency (PHE) from Jan. 16 to April 16, 2022. This means that the additional federal match to states for Medicaid will end April 15 and states will be able to start Medicaid dis-enrollments at the beginning of the following month, all of which, could jeopardize health care coverage for millions of Americans who currently receiving Medicaid coverage. Other provisions that were enacted during the PHE will also end, such as relaxing provider enrollment requirements, enrolling Medicaid recipients, as well telehealth policies.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action. Click here to read past issues of Policy Corner.