July 9, 1010

EPA Proposes Air Transport Rule

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency issue proposed rules to deal with interstate air pollution - better know as "downwind" pollution. The rule, known as the Air Transport rule will require several Midwestern and East Coast power plants to significantly reduce SO2 and NOx emissions to prevent air pollution in downwind states. EPA estimates the rule will cost $2.8 billion to implement and will result in $120 290 billion in benefits - largely from improvements in respiratory health. EPA estimates the rule, when fully implemented in 2014 will improve the public health by avoiding:
• 14,000 to 36,000 premature deaths,
• 21,000 cases of acute bronchitis,
• 23,000 nonfatal heart attacks,
• 26,000 hospital and emergency room visits,
• 1.9 million days when people miss work or school,
• 240,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and
• 440,000 upper and lower respiratory symptoms.

The American Thoracic Society strongly supports the proposed rule and will submit comments during the public comment period on how best EPA can revise and implement the proposed rule.

CLINICAL PRACTICE

Obama Appoints Dr. Berwick as CMS Administrator

This week, President Obama appointed Donald Berwick MD as administrator of the Centers Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which oversees the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. President Obama appointed Dr. Berwick when Congress was in recess - circumventing the likely contentious Senate hearing confirmation process associated with the post. As a recess appointee, Dr. Berwick's appointment is valid through 2011.

Dr. Berwick is a nationally recognized thought leader on health systems research and reform and has long championed the patient centered care model. As head of CMS, Dr. Berwick will lead the agency through the challenging process of drafting and enforcing the regulations need to implement the recently enacted health care reform bill.

RESEARCH

House Subcommittee to Vote on 2011 Health Funding

The ATS has learned that the House Labor-Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS-ED) subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Obey (D-WI), will meet on Wednesday, July 14, to consider the 2011 Labor-HHS-ED spending bill, which funds most health research and services programs, including the NIH and CDC. Which funding levels are under consideration for NIH and CDC programs is not yet known, but the ATS is calling on members and friends to urge the subcommittee to provide the following funding levels/cut preventions for these priority programs:
• $35 billion for the NIH, with corresponding increases for all institutes and centers,
• $8.8 billion for the CDC, as recommended by the ATS and the public health community. The President's 2011 budget has proposed a 2% cut to the CDC budget,
• $3 million to create a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) public health program at the CDC, and
• Prevention of a $1.2 million cut to CDC's domestic tuberculosis program proposed by the President's 2011 budget.

Following subcommittee passage, the 2011 Labor-HHS bill will move to a full committee vote, possibly before the Congress recesses in August. Meanwhile, the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations subcommittee will also begin action within the next few weeks. Please visit the ATS website at http://capwiz.com/thoracic/home/ for more information.

The Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee may also be considering the 2011 State-Foreign Operations bill, which funds overseas assistance programs, including USAID's tuberculosis (TB) program, within the next week. The ATS is urging the subcommittee to adopt the House subcommittee-passed funding level of $240 million for the TB program. If you would like to join the ATS advocacy network to receive legislative alerts, please e-mail advocacy@thoracic.org.

PHYSICIANS WORKFORCE

ATS nominates Wayne Riley, MD, for National Health Care Workforce Commission

The ATS is supporting the nomination of Wayne Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, to the new National Health Care Workforce Commission, scheduled to be set up this year. Dr. Riley is currently President and CEO of Meharry Medical College. Prior to this position, he served as vice dean and vice president for health affairs and government relations at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Riley is widely recognized for his work with minority and under-served populations as Assistant Chief of Medicine at Houston's main public hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital and as Chair of the Harris County TX Hospital District Medical Board. In 2008, Dr. Riley was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Advisory Council for the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities and later advised the Obama transition team on these issues. In the ATS's letter to the General Accounting Office supporting the nomination, President Dean Schraufnagel, MD, writes that the ATS believes that Dr. Riley "will be an effective advocate on the Commission for inter-disciplinary communication and collaboration as solutions to the problems of the health workforce shortage are developed."

The Washington Letter is written by the American Thoracic Society government relations office and emailed to all ATS members living in the United States. The letter keeps clinicians, scientists, and patients abreast of legislative, judicial, and regulatory issues in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Each week's edition is archived on the ATS Web site, www.thoracic.org. If you have any questions or one more information about becoming involved in advocacy, please contact the ATS Washington office at 202-296-9770.