Medicare Update: Republican Amendment to Senate Health Reform Bill Would Limit Medicare Payment Reductions

Image via Wikipedia

by Michael Apolskis

On November 30, 2009, the U.S. Senate began debating the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act).

Senate Republicans offered a proposed Amendment to the proposed Act, which would send the legislation back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions to report the bill back to the Senate without approximately $440 billion in Medicare payment reductions.

The proposed Amendment was introduced by Senator John McCain who issued a Press Release stating in part "[s]lashing Medicare by nearly $500 billion, one-half a trillion dollars, to create a new federal health care entitlement is not health care reform."

The proposed Amendment focuses on 22 potential Medicare payment reductions over the 2010-2019 time period including:
Continue Reading