WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today the House of Representatives passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331) by a bipartisan vote of 355 to 59. The legislation includes similar language authored by Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Assistant to the Speaker of the House, the only congressional member from Southern California on the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Health Subcommittee, to improve and extend programs for modest-income Medicare beneficiaries. Rep. Becerra voted for the bill.
“With the cost of basic necessities rising and the economy stumbling, we have an obligation to look out for the most vulnerable members of society – especially seniors of modest means.” Rep. Becerra said. “This bill goes a long way toward providing that needed support by making assistance available to more seniors who need medical care, but can’t afford it.”
H.R. 6331 incorporates similar major provisions from the Medicare Savings Program Improvement Act (H.R. 3127), which was introduced by Rep. Becerra last year.
Specifically, it includes:
- Changes to the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) to allow modest-income seniors to save more money and still qualify for assistance in paying their premiums, co-payments and deductibles.
- Removes barriers for low-income seniors to sign up for benefits by getting the Social Security Administration to send information to states that will begin the application process for Medicaid to pay their out-of-pocket costs.
- Eliminates the option for states to carry out estate recoveries for modest-income beneficiaries who apply for assistance in paying their premiums, co-payments and deductibles.
- Extends the Qualified Individuals (QI) Program through 2009, which pays outpatient care premiums for seniors with incomes just above the poverty level.
The legislation makes other important improvements to the Medicare program for providers and patients.
The bill eliminates the pending 10 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians for the remainder of the year and provides an update to physician payments of 1.1 percent for 2009, and provides a bonus for doctors who report on quality measures they have implemented. It also requires Medicare Advantage plans to pay pharmacies promptly (within two weeks) and update the prices of their reimbursement rates for prescription medicines on a weekly basis.
A complete summary of the H.R. 6331 can be found here at the Ways and Means Committee Web site.
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