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Charles Farmer

Whether Barack Obama can or whether John McCain will, it is likely that major legislation affecting medicare will be enacted by the next Congress.

Surprising action by Congress during the last week of June signals the coming changes, as well as giving cause for optimism that there may be uncommon bipartisanship as the changes are implemented.

As a matter of fact, change is already underway. And, further change is probable as well, no matter whom is elected President in November.

In what has been described as a “stunning victory” for Democrats, the House passed legislation which prevented cuts to physician fees for treating Medicare patients. President Bush, who has threatened to veto the bill, and leaders of the House Republicans, were opposed to the bill because it also called for cuts to Medicare Adavantage health plans. The Republican leader of the House called the legislation a “doc fix” bill.

The legislation, which was also expected to be passed by the Senate on June 26, was approved by a vote of 355-59, including the votes of 129 Republicans. (The Senate didn’t pass the bill, falling two votes short on a cloture vote.)

Absent passage of the bill, fees of physicians would have been cut by 10.6 percent, beginning July 1. The American Medical Association and the pharmaceutical industry had lobbied extensively for passage of the bills.
Individual doctors delivered what was described as an “outpouring” of calls to the Congressmen.

There were other substantive provisions of the bill, which included bipartisan legislation to delay implementation of a Medicare competitive bidding program.

While passage of the bill could be called bipartisan action, the vote did not come until the customary rancor between the two major national which obstructs action on many issues had reared its ugly head.

The chairman of House Democratic caucus, Rahm Emanuel, challenged the Republicans thusly: “Will Republicans vote to protect seniors, the disabled and the doctors who treat them, and improve Medicare? Or will they once again side with the biggest corporate plans?

Rep. Joe Barton, the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce committee scoffed, “This was all designed to make this as difficult for us as possible.”

Whether one agrees with or opposes provisions of the bill, it is clear that health care will be dealt with by the next Congress and the next President.

That is contrary to what had been conventional wisdom. For instance, in the March issue of Health Care News an article carried the headline “Federal Action on Health Care Unlikely this Year.”

The author, Grace-Marie Turner, speculated that any reform would make matters worse, but predicted, “the signs suggest federal action is unlikely to happen soon.” She also quoted other experts who were convinced, “A monlithic new federal approach to the entire health system is not going to arrive on Congress” doorstep early in 2009.”

That prediction might simply be off-target. One of every six dollars spent in our entire economy goes to healthcare. It is an issue that will not go away and the public will demand that the Congress deal with it.



Charles Farmer
Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC
731-424-0461
cfarmer@spraginslaw.com



July 2008


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