Congress revisits regulatory relief bill

Medicare paperwork legislation needs reshuffling as the Bush administration makes progress on reforms.

By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. March 10, 2003.

Washington -- Lawmakers are hoping the third time will be the charm in their efforts to pass regulatory relief for physicians and other Medicare players. The House has twice passed a set of paperwork reduction measures only to see them die in the Senate.

This year, with Medicare reform and an outpatient prescription drug benefit again hot issues, key members of Congress are trying to push through changes that will help keep physicians in their exam rooms, rather than at their desks. In the meantime, the Bush administration is not waiting for Congress to pass the legislation and has already adopted many of the bill's measures on its own.

In February, House Ways and Means health subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R, Conn.) and ranking member Fortney "Pete" Stark (D, Calif.) reintroduced the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act that was passed last year.

"Good health care is about patients, not paperwork. America's physicians must be freed from the flood of forms," Johnson said. "This major legislation proposes concrete steps to rein in the demands Washington imposes on providers, while ensuring that Medicare continues to meet the needs of America's seniors."

Johnson said the bill was a start and not an end to the process and that she was committed to passing a strong regulatory reform package this year. The bill is likely to undergo some revisions to trim those measures that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has already implemented without congressional direction.