Federal Legislation

• H.J.Res.20, a bill to continue appropriations for federal programs and agencies through Fiscal Year 2007 passed the House. To read more about this legislation, please visit the Federal Legislation section of this month’s report.

• Senator John Ensign (R-NV) introduced S. 243, a bill to improve medical services and quality of care by reducing the excessive burden of the liability system on healthcare providers. To read more about this legislation, please visit the Federal Legislation section of this month’s report.

Federal Agency News

Department of Health and Human Services

• President Bush has proposed a $700 million budget for the Department of Health and Human Services for Fiscal Year 2008. To read more about this proposal, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.

• The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $103 million in grants to 27 states to boost technology to improve patient care. To read more about this proposal, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.

CMS

• Participating hospitals in the Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) have shown substantial improvement in the quality of care provided according to a CMS official. To read more about these findings, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.

• Physicians and other practitioners will not have to enroll a new Medicare reporting program in order to receive their bonus payment, a CMS representative said. To read more about this announcement, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.

JCAHO

• According to a white paper released by JCAHO, patient care can be improved with better provider-patient communication. To read more about this white paper, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.

NCQA

• NCQA released for public comment an expanded set of measures, guidelines, and technical specifications based on HEDIS, the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set. To read more about these measures, visit the Federal Agency News section of this month’s report.