Welcome to the ACP Advocate,
Today's first article explores the Congressional Budget Office's much-anticipated report that came out in late May, after the House had already approved its plan to dismantle the ACA. The CBO issued a similar analysis in March, but the House made changes to the bill that the CBO had analyzed and subsequently passed it without CBO review.
The health care legislation passed by the House to replace the ACA would cause 23 million people to lose their insurance coverage over the next decade, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That's a number that the ACA hopes will give the U.S. Senate pause as it considers a repeal-and-replacement bill of its own.
Our second article today describes ACP's free, downloadable resource -- called the High Value Care Coordination Toolkit -- built to streamline the specialty referral process and shore up any gaps that may result in unnecessary or duplicate testing or create diagnostic or therapeutic delays.
The toolkit includes checklists, standards for referral requests, guidance on how to best communicate with subspecialists, pertinent data sets for referrals, templates for care coordination agreements between primary care and subspecialty practices and between a primary care practice and hospital care team as well as an outline of recommendations for preparing a patient for a referral. At its heart, the kit is about improved communication among all parties. It was created with ACP's Council of Subspecialty Societies.
Today's final article examines how the May 4 Trump administration executive order aimed at ensuring religious freedom could, in fact, violate patients' rights. The order allows religious leaders and houses of worship to endorse political candidates. It also directs federal agencies to issue new guidance on the interpretation of religious liberty protections under law, and it's that direction that has prompted ACP's concern.
Look for the next issue of the Advocate to be distributed on June 23, when we plan to look at the 2017 ACP Leadership Day and the new ACP forward-looking advocacy issues paper.
For more coverage of what's happening in Washington, take a look at my award-winning blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. You can also follow me on Twitter @BobDohertyACP.
As always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours truly,
Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians
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| In the news |
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With Helpful Tools, ACP Raises the Bar for High-Value Care
Free, downloadable toolkit can help internists coordinate care with subspecialists
June 9, 2017 (ACP) -- Imagine this: A 55-year-old male patient being treated for hypothyroidism still doesn't feel quite right, despite medication and several adjustments, suggesting that it's time to refer ... (read more)
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| About this newsletter |
| The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy. |
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| In focus |
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ACP letter to Senate leaders expresses areas of concern |
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Writing on behalf of its membership, ACP President Jack Ende sent Senate leaders a letter on June 8 expressing ACP's concern about reports that legislation to repeal and replace the ACA and radically change how Medicaid is financed is being hastily drafted and rushed forward for a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate, potentially before the July 4th recess.
The letter addresses five policy areas of concern: Medicaid changes (capping, phase-out of expansion); Waiving of Essential Health Benefits; Waiving of Medical Loss Ratio; discrimination in funding for women's health clinics; and inadequate Tax credits for coverage. |
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ACP joins 50 groups in letter that criticizes e-cigarette rule delay |
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A May 17 letter to the HHS secretary noted: 'The public health justification for regulation is as compelling now as it was a year ago, when the FDA issued the final deeming rule. There is, therefore, no basis for a reconsideration of the rule or a failure to defend it strongly in court. Every day of delay in its full implementation subjects the public to the continuing public health threat of unregulated, highly addictive and dangerous tobacco products, many of which come in sweet or candy flavors which are designed and marketed to appeal to children.' Click on the headline above to see the full letter. |
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