Weekly Newsletter: July 28, 2008
Tobacco Bill Coming Soon
This week the House could consider legislation (H.R. 1108) granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco, possibly under suspension of the rules. The bill would establish a new center within FDA to regulate tobacco products and assess tobacco companies more than $5 billion in “user fees” over the next ten years to pay for this regulation.
Some conservatives may be concerned by the regulatory regime the bill would establish, which would require an agency charged with promoting food and drug safety to regulate a product inherently unsafe and unhealthy. Some conservatives may also object to the multiple layers of regulation the bill would create, by leaving intact the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to regulate tobacco advertising and distribution and providing only limited pre-emption against additional state-based regulations and restrictions. Some conservatives may question whether the highly prescriptive restrictions in the bill— including advertising limitations on the use of color advertising and regulation of the font size of tobacco disclaimer warnings, all of which raise significant constitutional questions about their free-speech implications—constitute good public policy, particularly as the Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 1108 will reduce smoking levels by only 2% over 10 years.
Lastly, some conservatives may object to provisions in the bill that could prompt an international trade dispute. Last week, HHS Secretary Leavitt wrote to Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Barton about H.R. 1108, observing that, because the bill prohibits all tobacco flavorings except menthol, foreign countries which manufacture clove or other flavored cigarettes may take action against the United States for providing unfair and disparate treatment for a particular type of manufactured cigarette. As press reports indicate that H.R. 1108 may be considered under suspension of the rules, some conservatives may be concerned by the lack of procedural opportunities available to address this disparity, such that the United States can live up to its obligations under international free-trade agreements.
A Policy Brief on H.R. 1108 (as reported by the Energy and Commerce Committee) can be found here.
Democrats Ignore Medicare Funding Warning
Last week Democrats responded to the Medicare trustees’ finding that the Medicare program faces significant future funding shortfalls—by resolving to ignore the problem. The resolution concerned a provision inserted into the Medicare Modernization Act at the behest of the RSC, which provided for the President to submit, and Congress to consider under expedited procedures, legislation to remedy Medicare’s funding problems when the program is projected to consume more than 45% of its funding from general revenues (as opposed to the Medicare payroll tax and beneficiary premiums). The Democrat majority’s action turned off this funding “trigger” for the balance of the 110th Congress, preventing those who believe in entitlement reform from taking action to force a House floor vote on Medicare reform legislation.
Many conservatives may be disappointed by the actions of Congressional Democrats, which prevented the President’s reasonable and modest proposals for Medicare reform—means testing that would make wealthier individuals like Warren Buffett and George Soros pay $2 per day more in Part D prescription drug premiums and liability reform to reduce the costs associated with defensive medicine practices— from receiving a vote in Congress. Many conservatives may believe that solving Medicare’s $86 trillion in unfunded obligations—and a Hospital Trust Fund scheduled to be exhausted in little more than a decade—will not be helped by Democrats’ apparent eagerness to ignore the problem. However, when Democrats like Florida’s Alcee Hastings note that “the perceived problem with Medicare funding has already been addressed,” many conservatives may be concerned that this lack of awareness will only hasten the day when Medicare’s funding shortfalls jeopardize the viability of the program—and wonder what policy-makers will tell their senior constituents when it does.
There are RSC Policy Briefs related to the Medicare trigger: Legislative Background; Talking Points on Trigger; Questions for House Democrats; Size of Medicare Program; White House Trigger Bill; Medicare Trustees Report
Article of Note: Fuzzy Math
Last Wednesday the New York Times reported on the many financial discrepancies surrounding the health care plan of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). While Sen. Obama has been consistent in saying that his health plan would save every American family $2,500 per year, many observers have come to question the factual basis for a “best guess” assertion by his advisers early last year. Independent estimates, including those by the Congressional Budget Office, have questioned whether the savings from such initiatives as health information technology and chronic care management will materialize, particularly in the four-year timeline Sen. Obama has promised—such that even a statement by Obama’s own advisers backtracked from any assertions that the purported savings would materialize by a date certain.
Many conservatives may be skeptical of Sen. Obama’s claims, particularly as the liberal Commonwealth Fund released a report in December with a menu of options for savings that would by their estimates achieve a total reduction in spending of only 6% in 10 years. Some conservatives may also be concerned that, in an attempt to reduce health care costs—whether by 8%, 6%, or some lesser amount— Sen. Obama would rely first and foremost on imposing price controls on physicians, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and insurance companies, along with rationing care through a government-controlled comparative effectiveness institute. Many conservatives may believe that such bureaucratic restrictions would in the long run prove far more effective at growing the size of government than slowing the growth of health care costs.
Read the article here: New York Times: “Health Plan from Obama Sparks Debate”