Re: House passes Medicare bill but obstacles remain
From: Meenan, Anna (annam@uic.edu)
Thu Jun 26 14:52:08 2008
Why doesn't Congress have to work til 7/3 and go back to work on 7/7
like the rest of us working folks? Stupid question, I guess, but I
sure would like to get a week and a half off for a one-day holiday.
Anna Meenan
>First, the good news: The House voted 355 to 59 this week in favor
>of legislation that would eliminate the proposed 10.6% reduction in
>Medicare payments for 18 months. However, there are still a few
>obstacles to enacting the legislation. The bill now goes to the
>Senate where the vote is expected to be much tighter. And if it
>passes in its current form, the White House has threatened a veto
>because the bill includes cuts to Medicare Advantage. The Senate is
>scheduled to vote later today, but if legislation isn't passed by
>the end of this week, the cut will go into effect and the Senate
>won't reconvene until July 9 because of the Independence Day recess.
><http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content_redirect.cfm?content_id=214191>[Read
>More]
>
>Wednesday, June 25, 2008; Page A03
>
>By a surprisingly large bipartisan margin, the House voted yesterday
>to postpone a planned cut in payments to physicians who treat
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Medicare?tid=informline>Medicare
>patients by approving a reduction in payouts to private insurers.
>
>The House approved legislation, on a 355 to 59 vote, that forestalls
>a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals for
>18 months. Democrats warned that such a decrease would lead to many
>physicians opting out of treating Medicare patients.
>
>"If we fail to enact this legislation, physicians will face a 10
>percent pay cut that jeopardizes access to care for seniors and the
>disabled," said
><http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000355/>Rep.
>John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+House+Committee+on+Energy+and+Commerce?tid=informline>House
>Energy and Commerce Committee, which helped write the bill.
>
>The battle now shifts to the Senate, where it may be more closely fought.
>
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/The+White+House?tid=informline>The
>White House has threatened to veto the bill because it includes
>payment reductions to Medicare Advantage, the program under which
>some seniors use a private, fee-for-service insurer instead of
>Medicare for their health coverage.
>
>According to White House statements, a drop in payments to those
>insurers would result in reduced services and benefits, particularly
>for elderly patients in rural areas.
>
>Democrats said private insurers receive too much money. The
>legislation approved yesterday could result in $14 billion less for
>them over five years, though an estimate by a conservative
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Republican+Party?tid=informline>House
>Republican caucus put the tally at $47.5 billion over 11 years.
>
>The bill has broad support from the
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/American+Medical+Association?tid=informline>American
>Medical Association, which regularly sought and received prior
>postponements of planned cuts in Medicare payments to doctors.
>
>It was considered under a fast-track provision that required a
>two-thirds majority for passage. House Republican leaders had hoped
>to hold enough of their members to kill the measure and allow for
>continued bipartisan negotiations in the Senate, where the reduced
>payments to private insurers were not under consideration.
>
>Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for
><http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000575/>Rep.
>Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the House minority whip, said that "our members
>wanted to go home having voted for a measure that would ensure that
>physicians are fairly reimbursed by Medicare. Sadly, House Democrats
>would neither back down nor commit to finding a way to get a
>reasonable compromise."
>
>Instead, with less than a week until the reduced payments to doctors
>are scheduled to take effect, a majority of Republicans, 129,
>supported the plan.
>
><http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/r000146/>Senate
>Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday he will bring
>the House version to a vote this week.
>
><http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062400970.html?wpisrc=newsletter>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062400970.html?wpisrc=newsletter
>
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