Congenital Heart Future’s Act Update

I found some information floating around some of the Heart Groups on Facebook. I wanted to keep everyone updated on the Congenital Heart Act.

“We want to share some exciting news with you-the passing of the Congenital Heart Futures Act (CHFA). On Sunday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3590, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, by a vote of 219-212. The bill included the CHD patient registry and NIH research provisions from the Congenital Heart Futures Act (S. 621/H.R. 1570). President Obama officially enacted the CHFA into law with his signature, today. This is a significant milestone towards a congenital heart disease (CHD) registry and increased research in CHD as a chronic disease that requires life-long care.

ACHA thanks you, our members, patients and family, and ACHA professionals, for your input, dedication to advocacy, and support. We also want to thank our partners at the Children’s Heart Foundation, Mended Little Hearts, and the American College of Cardiology for their work to ensure the CHFA moved forward as part of health reform. Special thanks also go to our policy counsel at Patton Boggs and of course, the ACHA staff.

Last, but not least, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) has been a true champion in every sense of the word. He and his incredible staff, including Sara Singleton, have worked to get a this bill introduced in the Senate, advocated for its inclusion in the Senate Manager’s Amendment to H.R. 3590 last December and continued the conversation with ACHA up until the last minute. We cannot thank Sen. Durbin enough and look forward to working with him and his staff on ensuring adequate funding for the CDC registry.”

I think this is great news for all of us Heart Moms out there..