By You need to look no further than the uncertainty about FY 2011 funding being hobbled together through a series of short-term continuing resolutions and threats of a government shutdown to understand why mandatory funding is necessary to create a stable funding stream for essential programs that improve the health and well-being of America's children and families.
A hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee yesterday looked into the mandatory funding included in the Affordable Care Act. Claims by some Members of Congress that mandatory spending was "secretly" hidden in the Affordable Care Act were soundly rejected. During the long debate over the Affordable Care Act, there was considerable public discussion about mandatory funding for high priority areas such as school-based health centers, health exchanges, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
It is likely that we haven't heard the last of this issue as Committee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) plans to introduce legislation to change the mandatory funding provisions to discretionary funding as part of a broader effort by leaders in the House of Representatives to defund the Affordable Care Act. Former Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) predicted that the Pitt's proposal would not make it through the Senate, but said that House consideration of the legislation could have a chilling effect on groups applying for Affordable Care Act funding.
I'm hoping that our political leaders will do the right thing... but based on past history, I'm not holding my breath. The Health Care Industry needs to be subject to market forces to solve the problems that afflict it, but I'm not sure our leaders have the courage to allow that to happen.
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