Policy Corner: May 11, 2018

Administration Crafts Rescission Package for Current Funding

This week, the Administration proposed that Congress rescind funding from programs previously funded in the fiscal year 2018 Omnibus spending bill, passed in March. Initially, the plan called for substantial cuts, but ended up being $15 billion in proposed cutbacks from unspent dollars from old accounts. The proposal has been sent to the House of Representatives, which will consider the measure without being heard by the House Appropriations Committee. Among the proposed cuts is $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Administration claims that the CHIP program funding has technically expired and cannot be used, meaning that there would be no impact on the program.

Legislators Propose Health Care Provisions in the Farm Bill and Cuts to SNAP

On April 18, the House Committee on Agriculture passed H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, known as the Farm Bill, April 18. The bill also provides funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamp program. The bill also, for the first time, proposes to expand access to health plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The draft bill proposes to provide $65 million in federal loans and grants for associations of ranchers, farmers, or other agribusiness owners to establish “association” type health plans to offer to their members with health care coverage. These plans would not be required to meet the essential health care benefits package, which includes rehabilitation, as required by the ACA.

H.R. 2, introduced by Committee Chair Mike Conaway (R-Tex.), also makes sweeping changes to SNAP, for millions of people, including people with disabilities and low-income families. The bill requires able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 59, including parent of children over the age of 6, to work or be in an approved training program for 20 hours a week. Recipients can be out of work up to three months out of every three years.

Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research Holds Biannual Meetings

The National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research (NABMRR) held its biannual meetings May 7. The meetings offered an opportunity for the National Center on Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide the NABMRR with an update on multiple ongoing initiatives. NIH currently funds nearly 1400 medical rehabilitation research projects at $466 million annually. The Institutes that support the most medical rehabilitation research projects are the: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Aging, and the National Cancer Institute.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action.