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Congressional Schedule
Both chambers are in recess and will resume legislative work on January 27.
Budget/Appropriations
On Friday, January 17, President Obama signed the $1.1 trillion omnibus budget bill. The bill matches the overall funding level negotiated by Senator Murray and Representative Ryan (see December 16 In Brief) for the current fiscal year. The bill passed the Senate 72-26 and the House 359-67. The majority of votes against the bill came from members arguing that the legislation spent too much and that lawmakers did not have enough time to read it.
AUCD has completed an initial analysis of the funding for programs important to the AUCD network. While the entire Labor-HHS-Education bill is funded at $100 billion below the FY13 enacted level, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all see increases. The bill leaves steady funding for implementation of most Affordable Care Act programs, but reduces funding for the Prevention and Public Health Trust Fund by $1 billion and cuts $10 million from the Independent Payment Advisory Board - the new board tasked with finding ways to reduce growth in Medicare spending.
Home and Community Based Services
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the dates of the webinars on the new regulation regarding home and community-based services published in the Federal Register on January 16. Two identical webinars will be held January 23 and January 30 with additional registration information coming soon on the CMS website. In addition to the webinars, CMS will be offering technical assistance and sub-regulatory guidance on implementation of the rule. AUCD has prepared an issue brief on the new rule. For more information, see the January 13 In Brief.
Affordable Care Act
Days Remaining to Enroll: 69
In response to the problems with HealthCare.gov, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has again extended the time that individuals enrolled in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) have to enroll in Marketplace plans. The PCIP was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to cover people with pre-existing conditions before the Marketplaces and insurance reforms began on January 1, 2014. The plan was scheduled to end on December 31, 2014 but problems with enrollment through HealthCare.gov and some state-based sites hindered the efforts of some to enroll. HHS originally extended the enrollment period for people on the PCIP to January 15 and has now extended it fully to the end of open enrollment on March 31. This means that people enrolled in the PCIP must enroll in another plan by March 15 for uninterrupted coverage.
Education
The US Department of Education, in collaboration with the US Department of Justice, has released guidance on school discipline. The guidance package seeks to assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure those policies and practices comply with federal law. The package includes a Dear Colleague Letter on meeting legal obligations, Guiding Principles that describe three evidence-based principles and action steps to improve school climate, a Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources, a Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations, and an overview of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative. All materials are also available in Spanish on the School Climate and Discipline Page.
From the AUCD legislative staff: 7 Reasons Why You Are Absolutely Required to Educate Policymakers.
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For updates from our Executive Director Andy Imparato, follow @AndyAUCD.
For more policy news, follow Kim and Rachel on Twitter at @kmusheno and @racheljpat
For definitions of terms used in In Brief, please see AUCD's Glossary of Legislative Terms.
For copies of this and previous issues of Legislative News In Brief please visit the Public Policy Page of the AUCD website: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=164
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