House Budget Reconciliation Bill Could Include SCHIP Expansion, Cuts To Medicare Advantage Plans

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 03 Mar 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said the House budget reconciliation package will include provisions that would stop a Medicare physician payment cut and expand SCHIP, CongressDaily reports. According to CongressDaily, the House bill is "far broader" than the $15 billion to $20 billion Medicare package that the Senate is considering including in its budget reconciliation measure.

The House bill would increase SCHIP funding by $50 billion; delay for two years a scheduled 10% reduction in Medicare physician fees; and add additional Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The House bill would offset new spending by reducing payments to Medicare Advantage plans by $50 billion over five years and increasing the federal cigarette tax by 45 cents per pack. President Bush has threatened to veto both funding mechanisms.

Blue Dog Coalition leader Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) said adhering to pay/go rules and achieving a balanced budget by 2012 are priorities, according to CongressDaily. He added that he supports including an SCHIP expansion in the reconciliation bill but criticized the Senate's plan to include a second economic stimulus package in their version of the reconciliation measure (Johnson/Cohn, CongressDaily, 2/28).

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