Health Care Bills Pass
Medicare and SCHIP Funding Legislation Moves Forward
On Tuesday, December 19, 2007, the U.S. Senate passed several health care related bills, some of which have gone to President Bush for signature.
SCHIP Extended
Among them, Congress extended SCHIP funding for uninsured children through March 2009. President Bush has signed this bill after vetoing the previous two bills which would have extended SCHIP for a shorter time frame, but increased the amount of money to be designated for states.
Democrats had hoped for a shorter time frame on the bill and make it a bigger issue for the 2008 Presidential campaign. Republicans have considered this a victory. The issue can be revisited again before it expires, and especially if any states try to raise income levels for eligibility purposes. The current bill does not address the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) rule that prohibits states from doing this. This issue may mean that Congress will have to revisit the SCHIP funding by summer 2008.
"Bare-Bones" Medicare Bill
Also approved by the Senate was a very "bare bones" Medicare bill (S 2499) which will increase Medicare physician fees by 0.5% for six months. It also delays the 10% cut in physician fees for that same six months. At that time, if no further legislation has been approved, the 10% cuts would go into effect.
The bill also extends several Medicare programs which will pay higher reimbursement fees for services to rural health care providers and to hospital laboratories.
House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the House of Representatives would begin to discuss this bill on Wed. December 20. Groups such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and AARP are hopeful that the House will address issues such as the six-month fix and do away with the funding formula all together and find ways to fund other needed programs for Medicare beneficiaries.
AMA and AARP Advocate
The AMA has been active in supporting a change to the Medicare funding issues. Cuts in reimbursement for physician fees may affect physicians and patients alike as physicians have to make business decisions whether to continue seeing Medicare beneficiaries or not. Many have already said they cannot take on new patients with Medicare. Others have said they may have to consider carefully whether they can continue to service the Medicare patients they already see if these cuts become a reality.
With the Baby Boom generation rapidly approaching Medicare age (65), this issue becomes a real problem for a larger portion of the present population. The first of the Baby Boomers will turn 62 in 2008.
Open Enrollment Ends Dec. 31
Reminder: Open Enrollment ends December 31. All Medicare beneficiaries should be sure they have signed up for the plan that offers the best coverage for their individual needs for 2008 by tomorrow.
