|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senate Budget Chair Calls
for More Cuts in Medicare
Republicans to recycle old failed issues in 2006
Jan. 26, 2006 – The Republican chairman of the
Senate Budget Committee is calling for more cuts in health care programs
in fiscal 2007, which includes Medicare, according to The Daily Health Policy Report by KaiserNetwork.org, which cites CQ Today. The
daily news summary says Republicans will also be targeting health care
proposals this year, but most are proposals that have failed in the
past.
Capitol Hill Watch
Sen. Gregg Calls for More Medicare, Medicaid
Spending Reductions This Year
[Jan 26, 2006]
 Senate Budget Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) on Wednesday
called for spending reductions in the fiscal year 2007 budget,
"particularly in health care programs" such as Medicare, CQ Today
reports. The FY 2007 budget process will begin on Feb. 6, when President
Bush delivers his proposed budget to Congress.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Homecare Industry Rallying Support to Kill
Reconciliation Act
Senate bill going back to House for final vote
freezes pay rate at 2005 level
Jan. 22, 2006 – Among the most active in fighting
to kill the Budget Reconciliation Act is the American Association for
Homecare, the industry group for home health care providers and those
who use this service. Despite home health care being a popular option
with senior citizens and studies showing it can be the least costly way
to care for the elderly, the bill has several provisions that negatively
impact the service. The most critical is a freeze on their pay rate for
services from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Read
more...
Read more on
Senior Politics |
|
Gregg said, "I'm not here to be a potted plant. ...
If we're going to do a budget, it's going to be a serious budget." Gregg
said that he expects the budget proposal from Bush to include spending
reductions, adding, "We can't afford our government as it is currently
structured."
Gregg also rejected the opinion that Republicans
should avoid spending reductions in an election year, adding, "As
Republicans, we should look at it as a strength, not a weakness."
However, "Gregg's fervor for budget cuts ... is not
shared by all of his GOP colleagues," according to CQ Today. Sen. Norm
Coleman (R-Minn.) said, "I think it was tough enough getting enough
votes" for an FY 2006 spending reduction
bill (S
1932) passed late last year by the Senate.
Meanwhile, House Republican leaders on Wednesday
"had a setback" in efforts to pass the legislation in the House, CQ
Today reports. Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) said that he would no longer
support the bill, on which the House plans to vote on Feb.1, because of
opposition from
AARP, labor unions and radiologists.
However, several additional Republican House
members would have to drop support before the legislation would fail to
pass (Dennis, CQ Today, 1/25).
Republican Lawmakers Likely To Promote
'Recycled' Health Care Proposals
[Jan 26, 2006]
Republican lawmakers this year likely will promote
a number of health care proposals as the midterm elections approach, but
"most of their initiatives are likely to be recycled measures that
Congress has rejected in the past," CQ Today reports.
According to CQ Today, Republican lawmakers first
must address problems with the launch of the Medicare prescription drug
benefit, which began on Jan. 1. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has
proposed a bill (S
2168) that would extend the time in which Medicare beneficiaries can
enroll in the prescription drug benefit without penalty to help address
the problems.
Republican lawmakers also likely will promote
legislation that would expand tax incentives for health savings accounts
to help reduce health care costs. However, passage of such legislation
"could prove difficult" because the cost of new tax incentives "could
make lawmakers skittish" at a time when they face "pressure ... to rein
in the deficit," according to CQ Today.
In addition, Republican lawmakers likely will
promote legislation that would encourage the increased use of electronic
health records. The Senate last year passed a bill (S
1418) sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) that would encourage the
standardization and increased use of EHRs, and Republican House members
this year likely will make a similar legislation (HR
4157) a priority.
Meanwhile, Snowe likely will promote a bill (S
406) that would allow small businesses to form association health
plans across state lines and would exempt the plans from a number of
state laws that regulate health plans and require them to cover certain
benefits. According to CQ Today, similar legislation has passed in the
House several times, but the Senate has "been reluctant to override
state requirements." In response, Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) has
proposed a bill (S
1955) that would require AHPs to adhere to coverage mandates
established in at least 45 states (Schuler, CQ Today, 1/25).
"Reprinted with
permission from kaisernetwork.org (insert hyperlink to http://www.kaisernetwork.org).
You can view the entire
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign
up for email delivery at
www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report is published for
kaisernetwork.org, a
free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2006
Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights
reserved.”
Click here to Search SeniorJournal.com for more on
this subject
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
