Home

Republicans Propose Medicare HMO Payment Increases

Tue, 10/24/2000 - 11:00pm — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

House and Senate Republicans Thursday unveiled details of a proposal to spend $28.2 billion over 5 years to give back funds to hospitals, managed care plans, nursing homes, and other health care providers whose Medicare payments were cut in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and to expand benefits for Medicare patients. Last year Congress refunded about $17 billion to providers hurt by 1997 cuts that went deeper than intended.

An agreement has been reached on the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 by Commerce Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA), House Ways and Means Chairman Archer (R-TX), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bill Roth (R-DE), Health Subcommittee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA), and Commerce Health Subcommittee Michael Bilirakis (R-FL).

Managed care plans would receive most of the money, about $10.2 billion of the total. Democrats do not agree that the HMOs should receive that much money, and Clinton has threatened to veto such a bill. They say Medicare managed care are already overpaid and the funds should go to other providers, but Republicans said that managed care received a much smaller share of last year's bill and that it is important to prevent more plans from dropping out of Medicare.

  • HMOs would receive $10.2 billion more from Medicare over five years than under current law ? $6.2 billion in basic Medicare payments, plus $4 billion to reflect the cost of new benefits and the higher rates for doctors, hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Hospitals would receive $8.4 billion of additional Medicare money in the next five years. This includes a full adjustment in 2001 to cover inflation in the cost of goods and services used by hospitals.
  • Nursing homes would receive $1.6 billion of additional Medicare payments. The bill would enable nursing homes to pay higher wages to nurses and nursing assistants but would not require them to use the money for that purpose.
  • Home health care agencies would receive $1.3 billion in additional payments over the next five years. This would provide a 12-month delay in a 15% cut that is scheduled to take effect next October.

House and Senate Republicans Thursday unveiled details of a proposal to spend $28.2 billion over 5 years to give back funds to hospitals, managed care plans, nursing homes, and other health care providers whose Medicare payments were cut in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and to expand benefits for Medicare patients. Last year Congress refunded about $17 billion to providers hurt by 1997 cuts that went deeper than intended.

An agreement has been reached on the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 by Commerce Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA), House Ways and Means Chairman Archer (R-TX), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bill Roth (R-DE), Health Subcommittee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA), and Commerce Health Subcommittee Michael Bilirakis (R-FL).

Managed care plans would receive most of the money, about $10.2 billion of the total. Democrats do not agree that the HMOs should receive that much money, and Clinton has threatened to veto such a bill. They say Medicare managed care are already overpaid and the funds should go to other providers, but Republicans said that managed care received a much smaller share of last year's bill and that it is important to prevent more plans from dropping out of Medicare.

  • HMOs would receive $10.2 billion more from Medicare over five years than under current law ? $6.2 billion in basic Medicare payments, plus $4 billion to reflect the cost of new benefits and the higher rates for doctors, hospitals and nursing homes.
  • Hospitals would receive $8.4 billion of additional Medicare money in the next five years. This includes a full adjustment in 2001 to cover inflation in the cost of goods and services used by hospitals.
  • Nursing homes would receive $1.6 billion of additional Medicare payments. The bill would enable nursing homes to pay higher wages to nurses and nursing assistants but would not require them to use the money for that purpose.
  • Home health care agencies would receive $1.3 billion in additional payments over the next five years. This would provide a 12-month delay in a 15% cut that is scheduled to take effect next October.