Advocacy Articles
Updates about legislative and regulatory issues impacting the field of sleep medicine
The AASM profiles the three most prominent Democrats in the House, explaining how they may react to any attempts to repeal Obamacare in the 115th Congress.
In a letter sent last week to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and four other Senate colleagues urged the NTSB to conduct a comprehensive safety review of how passenger railroads are implementing sleep apnea testing to promote railway safety.
A U.S. House of Representatives resolution (H. Res. 46) drafted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) to express support for soldiers and veterans with obstructive sleep apnea and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was introduced today in the 115th Congress. The resolution’s lead sponsor was Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, and it was co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
When the new president and his administration settle into Washington later this month, the medical community can expect to encounter some uncertainty as congressional leaders begin to consider Donald Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare and conduct a thorough reexamination of funding methods for Medicare and Medicaid.
The AASM profiles the three most prominent Republicans who will oversee health care legislation in the House of Representatives during the 115th Congress.
On Nov. 29, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Seema Verma, a close adviser to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Considered to be the architect of the Healthy Indiana Plan, the nation’s first consumer-directed Medicaid program, Ms. Verma’s nomination foreshadows the Trump administration’s possible strategy of restructuring the current Medicare and Medicaid program through new models that emphasize personal and fiscal responsibility.
On Tuesday, Dec. 13, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which had easily passed the Senate last week by a vote of 94-5. The week before, the House also approved the legislation by a bipartisan vote of 392-26. The legislation is the culmination of months of negotiations between House and Senate leaders.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Thomas E. Price, MD, an orthopedic surgeon who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for the last 12 years, to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Upon his expected confirmation in the first quarter of the New Year, Dr. Price will be the first medical doctor to become the secretary of Health and Human Services in 24 years.
Fatigue and inadequately treated obstructive sleep apnea contributed to an Aug. 17, 2014, collision between two Union Pacific Railroad freight trains in Hoxie, Arkansas, according to a summary of a public meeting of the National Transportation Safety Board on Dec. 6, 2016.
In October, Rep. Lewis Moore (R-OK), who serves on the Oklahoma State Legislature’s Public Health Committee, requested an informal hearing to discuss a study proposal addressing the cost of sleep studies and their impact on state health care expenditures. The hearing was conducted on Oct. 27.