Rep. Stark To Focus Efforts on Medicare Payment Cuts to Some Health Care Facilities, Medicare Advantage Plans To Fund Democratic Health Policy Agenda, CQ HealthBeat Reports
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on Tuesday will hold a hearing to consider potential reductions in Medicare reimbursements for hospitals, home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to CQ Today, the hearing is part of an effort by subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) to find as much as $100 billion in savings to fund other health care proposals, such as an expansion of the number of uninsured children covered under Medicaid and SCHIP.
Stark last week reportedly told the American Hospital Association he will seek to reduce a "market basket" increase in Medicare reimbursements for inpatient services that hospitals are scheduled to receive, a proposal recommended by the Bush administration. However, according to one health care lobbyist, Stark likely will not have the ability to reduce Medicare reimbursements for hospitals by more than $10 billion over five years because of the importance of the facilities and the jobs they offer in almost all congressional districts.
Stark also might consider a proposal from the Bush administration and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to freeze Medicare reimbursements for home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities. The proposal would leave home health agencies "absolutely annihilated" but would result in only $8 billion in savings over five years, the lobbyist said. He added that the proposal would result in $1.5 billion in savings over five years from skilled nursing facilities and hospices. Stark previously has said that he also will seek to reduce Medicare reimbursements for private Medicare Advantage plans. Stark likely will propose to reduce Medicare reimbursements for MA plans by about $23 billion over five years, according to the lobbyist (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 5/14).
