June 2010, Issue IX

NCHS Policy Watch is designed to provide regular updates on congressional and administrative policies that impact NCHS and summarize implications for the broader health community, including researchers, policy analysts, practitioners, industry representatives, patient advocates, and decision makers in the public and private sectors that use NCHS data.

Stalled Budget Process Leaves Future of NCHS Funding Uncertain

Election year politics and an anti-spending sentiment in Washington have stalled the annual budget and appropriations process. In February of this year, the president released his FY 2011 budget request proposing a significant and much-needed 16 percent increase in NCHS’s budget, which would bring the agency’s overall funding level to $162 million. Typically, shortly after the release of the president’s budget Congress sets to work on its budget resolution to set the overall spending cap under which appropriators will allocate funding to various federal agencies and programs. This year, with the House and Senate Budget Committees tied up in the health reform debate and developing reconciliation legislation, the budget was put on hold. Congress frequently misses the statutory deadline for developing its budget—April 15—yet the fact that the House and Senate have not yet passed respective budgets does not bode well for the overall process.

After weeks of speculation on whether or not Congress will pass a budget, it now appears the House and Senate will forgo a formal budget and instead establish FY 2011 caps through the supplemental war spending bill now under consideration. It is expected that the House will cap next year’s appropriations near $1.121 trillion, about $7 billion below the president’s request and $3 billion less than the Senate Budget Committee proposed early this spring. The Senate will likely adopt the level approved by the House.

Meanwhile, the House appropriations subcommittees began consideration of spending bills on June 24. However, the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over health spending and NCHS will likely not consider their spending bills before August recess, and they will probably not bring their legislation to the floor. The more likely scenario is that the House and Senate will pass a continuing resolution, holding discretionary health funding flat at FY 2010 levels through the November midterm elections. When Congress returns, they may pass a large “omnibus” package combing unfinished spending bills for health and other domestic priorities. Alternatively, Congress many decide to pass a year-long continuing resolution so they may begin work on FY 2012 spending bills when they return in January. A year-long continuing resolution could hold spending at FY 2010 levels—in the case of NCHS at $139 million—or take the highest or the lowest of the House and Senate versions of the bills.

Opportunity to Submit Comments on Use of the Research Data Center

The National Center for Health Statistics is requesting comments on the following procedures and costs for use of its Research Data Center (RDC):

• Submitting proposals requesting use of the data;
• Mechanisms to access the RDC;
• Requirements and use of outside data sets; and
• Costs for using the RDC and other pertinent topics.

The RDC was established so that researchers could access data without compromising respondent privacy. Until recently, data accessed through the RDC consisted of NCHS survey data and vital statistics; the RDC has now begun accepting data files that are not produced from NCHS survey data. As a result, original guidelines for accessing files in the RDC are being reviewed to assure that all data files are processed in a consistent manner. As part of the review process, potential users are provided the opportunity to comment on how RDC procedures can best serve their research needs. Final procedures will be posted on the NCHS website.

Please send comments concerning this notice to Peter Meyer, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 4113, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or e-mail to pmeyer1@cdc.gov.

Save the Date: 2010 National Conference on Health Statistics
Date: August 16-18, 2010
Place: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.

In celebrating 50 years of monitoring the nation’s health, NCHS will host the 2010 National Conference on Health Statistics featuring sessions on complex sample survey designs and data on health disparities, teen pregnancy, and access to health care, among others. The first day of the conference will be devoted to interactive hands-on workshops and educational sessions, which will demonstrate NCHS’ latest surveys on a diverse range of health topics. The next two days will include plenary sessions from noted speakers such as Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, and Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/events/nchs.htm for more information about this event.

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