Health care reform has been at the forefront of policy-making efforts in Washington over the past month or so. President Obama hopes to have a complete health care reform bill on his desk to sign by October 1. This bill will be a mash-up of three separate bills coming out of the following committees:
- Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee – Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is a member
- Senate Finance Committee – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is the ranking member
- House Energy & Commerce – Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) is a member and sits on the Health subcommittee
- House Ways & Means
- House Education & Labor
HELP Committee bill
Bill draft was released on June 9 titled “The Affordable Health Choices Act.” They’ve been holding hearings and making markups, or revisions, of the bill since its release. Currently, though, Congress is on break for July 4th.
Full HELP bill text
APhA HELP bill summary
Senate Finance
A draft of their legislation is yet to be released, but we hope to see it any day
House “Tri-Committee” bill
A “discussion draft” was released June 19, and they’ll pick up their work again in the three committees after the July 4th recess.
Full House bill text
APhA House bill summary
As you can see, Iowa legislators are in an incredible position to influence health care reform in both houses of Congress; all the more reason for you to contact your legislator and advocate for the profession of pharmacy. You can find links to their websites and websites for key committees in the toolbar on the right.
Watch for more detailed descriptions of these bills and how pharmacy is represented in them in upcoming posts.
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