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Senate Rejects Medicare Package Amid Partisan Debate; COPD Caucus Co-Chair Crapo Explains Vote Against Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate remains locked in disagreement on a Medicare package after a vote to reject a bill that would have made pulmonary rehabilitation a permanent Medicare benefit.
The Senate rejection last Thursday was on a bill very similar to one that passed two days earlier by an overwhelming margin in the House of Representatives.
The House bill, HR 6331, included two other provisions of major importance to the patient community:
- Repeal of the title transfer of oxygen equipment to patients after 36 months of Medicare payments for equipment
- A delay in the implementation of the competitive bidding Process for oxygen providers.
The vote followed a contentious debate that occurred just before lawmakers left town for the July 4 break. Democrats were united in their support of the measure, while only nine Senate Republicans voted in favor of it.
Among the Republicans voting against the Medicare bill was Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Co-Chair of the Congressional COPD Caucus, who issued this statement explaining his vote:
“HR 6331 contained a number of positive provisions, including the cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation language, but faced a veto threat from the White House. Accordingly, I chose to support a Senate bipartisan compromise between Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley. This bill also contained the cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation provisions and it could have been signed into law by the President, unlike HR 6331. Unfortunately, for political reasons, the Democrats refused to allow this compromise bill to come to a vote. If they had, it would have passed overwhelmingly and this issue would be behind us. I remain committed to the COPD community and am confident that Congress can agree on Medicare legislation that will contain these crucial provisions. I will continue to advocate on behalf of patients who need cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.”
The Medicare issue has taken on heightened importance in an election year, with each party conscious of the importance of winning the votes of older people. While the House passed its Medicare bill by a lopsided 355-59 tally June 24, the Senate came just one vote short of advancing the measure to the president two days later.
The White House has stated that advisers to President George W. Bush would urge him to veto the Medicare bill, in large part because of cuts in physician reimbursement under Medicare Advantage. Senate Republicans – who pushed a 30-day extension of current Medicare payment rates – cited the Medicare Advantage issue as a main reason for their opposition to the bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, warned that the bill “would cause two million seniors to lose the extra benefits they currently get in their Medicare Advantage plans.”
In a pointed response to the vote to reject the Medicare bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, warned of grave electoral consequences for Republicans. He pointed to three recent special elections in which House seats previously held by Republicans were picked up by Democrats.
“Is it any wonder that the State of Mississippi sent us a Democratic House member? It is no wonder because they see what is going on over here,” Reid said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that it would not process claims for Medicare physician payments for the first half of July, giving Congress a window of opportunity to reverse deep cuts in payment rates.
Physician reimbursements for Medicare were set to drop by 10.6% on Tuesday, which physicians’ groups such as the American Medical Association say would cause many doctors to turn away patients using Medicare health insurance.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman Jeff Nelligan said Monday that the government would not process claims through July 15, which would allow Congress to approve a bill maintaining current reimbursement rates when it returns from its July 4 recess.
“We’re going to hold off on processing the claims for the first 10 business days of July,” Nelligan said.
The administration’s announcement came under fire from Senate Democrats, who suggested that it was politically motivated. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, Sens. John Rockefeller, IV, D-WV, and Charles Schumer, D-NY, said that current law already requires that Medicare claims are withheld for 13 days before they are paid out to physicians.
“It is our view that this administration is misleading the public by claiming to provide a ‘temporary hold’ on payment which is already authorized by law in order to give the appearance of being helpful to doctors in the Medicare program,” the letter stated.
