Medicare relief proceeding on Capitol Hill

Bills aimed at easing doctors' administrative burdens take another step toward passage.

By Markian Hawryluk, amednews staff. Nov. 19, 2001.

Washington -- Regulatory relief measures have begun to converge in the House, but hopes for enactment will also depend on Senate action.

In late October, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Medicare Regulatory, Appeals, Contracting, and Education Reform Act with minor changes. These changes brought it closer to related legislation by Health Subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R, Conn.) and ranking member Pete Stark (D, Calif.), which was approved last month by the House Ways and Means Committee. Leaders of both panels have pledged to bring a unified measure to the House floor. The American Medical Association is supportive of provisions in both bills.

But it is still unclear whether the Senate Finance Committee, which deals with Medicare issues, will be able to agree on a regulatory relief bill before Congress adjourns this year. The committee has been working on a proposal based on the RACER Act, but committee staff indicated there is a chance that no Medicare measure would be considered by the panel.

"The RACER bill is a significant step toward providing regulatory relief for overburdened physicians," said AMA President Richard F. Corlin, MD. "The AMA is pleased with the legislation's strong commitment to improving due process protections for physicians faced with government audits, as well as significantly improving communication between physicians and the Medicare program." [...]

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