Congress To Resume Crafting Medicare Legislation That Would Further Delay Physician Fee Cut

Might?   BD 

Bush Might Address Medicare Physician Fee Cut, Leavitt Says
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday said that the budget Bush will release next month might include a proposal to fix the Medicare physician fee cut, CongressDaily reports. Leavitt said that lawmakers cannot continue to patch the fee cut on "a six-month by six-month basis. Next year, we'll be staring down the barrel of a 15% reduction, and the year after that it's 20, and we have to solve this."
Bush for the first time is required by law to send a Medicare savings proposal to Congress after he proposes his budget because Medicare trustees last year triggered a "Medicare funding warning." The warning is issued when trustees for two consecutive years predict that federal general fund revenue must be used to pay for 45% or more of total Medicare costs within seven years. Aides and lobbyists "say the White House's savings proposal could significantly alter Capitol Hill discussions surrounding Medicare and other health-related issues," CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 1/17).

Congress To Resume Crafting Medicare Legislation That Would Further Delay Physician Fee Cut