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Appropriations Process Moves Forward Amid Uncertainty

Major milestones are being reached in the annual appropriations process. Most notably, on Thursday, July 22 the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee—which has jurisdiction over health spending—approved its draft spending package for FY 2011. The proposal provides $76.7 billion for HHS, $3.8 billion more than FY 2010 and $270 million more than the president requested.

Specifically, the House bill includes $6.782 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—a $32 million increase over FY 2010. The president requested an overall cut for the agency. Details on how that spending will be allocated—including how much might be provided to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)—are not yet available. Traditionally, details of the spending bills are not released until after the full Appropriations Committee has a chance to vote on the spending package. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing it is unclear when the House Appropriations Committee might consider the Labor-HHS-Education bill.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill will see progress in the Senate before August 1. The subcommittee is expected to markup its version of the spending package on Tuesday, July 27, with full committee action likely on Thursday, July 29. At that time, more information about NCHS funding should be available.

Despite some progress, a continuing resolution is inevitable to sustain funding for HHS beyond the end of the current fiscal year on September 30. Leadership in the House and Senate indicate that the Labor-HHS-Education bill will not come to the floor of either chamber before Congress recesses for the November elections. When Congress returns, we expect many of the unfinished appropriations bills including Labor-HHS-Education to be addressed through an omnibus spending package.

Opportunity to Submit Comments on the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

NCHS requests comments on the proposed data collection for the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). The purpose of NAMCS, a voluntary survey, is to meet the needs and demands for statistical data on the provision of medical care services in the United States.

The NAMCS target universe consists of all office visits made by ambulatory patients to non-federal office-based physicians (excluding those in the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology) who are engaged in direct patient care. NAMCS is one of the principal sources of data on ambulatory care provided in the United States.

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at 404-639-5960 or send comments to CDC Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail to omb@cdc.gov. Written comments must be submitted by September 7, 2010.

Opportunity to Submit Comments on the National Health Interview Survey

NCHS also requests comments on the proposed data collection for the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). NHIS, a voluntary household-based survey, collects demographic and health-related information on a nationally representative sample of persons and households throughout the country.

On January 4, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved data collection for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 surveys. However, the president’s fiscal year 2011 budget requests that Congress consider a budget increase for the survey in 2011. If the budget increase is approved by Congress, the sample size of NHIS will be increased by approximately 23 percent (from 35,000 participating households to 43,000 households).

If the requested funding increase is provided by Congress, this notice would allow the proposed request for a sample increase to move forward to the OMB for final review and allow changes to the survey to be made in a timely manner.

This announcement in the Federal Register is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-16739.htm.

Questions may be directed to the CDC Reports Clearance Office at 404-639-5960; e-mail: omb@cdc.gov. Written comments must be submitted within 60 days of July 9, 2010.

Save the Date: NCHS Conference on Health Statistics and 50th Anniversary Reception

NCHS is pleased to invite you to its 2010 National Conference on Health Statistics. The conference will be held August 16–18, 2010, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/events/nchs.htm.  

This year’s data conference will feature a number of special activities in celebration of the agency’s 50th anniversary, including a reception on Tuesday, August 17, from 5:00–7:00 p.m.

The Friends of NCHS are seeking contributions of $250 to support this event; sponsors will receive recognition at the reception. More than 100 guests have already registered, including many agency officials who produce and use health data.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact Mary Jo Hoeksema of the Population Association of America at paaapc@crosslink.net.

Help Us Help You: New Subscriber Satisfaction Survey

AcademyHealth and the Annie E. Casey Foundation are conducting a brief online survey to understand how the NCHS Policy Watch newsletter meets your interests and needs. Your feedback is important to us! The survey is confidential and will take you no more than five minutes to complete.

You may access the survey by clicking HERE.

Please complete this survey before August 21, 2010. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Dawn Ferdinand at dawn.ferdinand@academyhealth.org. Thank you.