Rep. Johnson Pushes Passage of Regulatory Reform Bill
The Senate should "act quickly" on a House-passed bill (HR 3391) to simplify the Medicare regulatory and claims processes for providers, Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) writes in a Washington Times opinion piece. She writes that Medicare's "irrational paperwork requirements and complex regulatory requirements are yanking the heart of our seniors' health care system [and forcing] doctors and nurses to put paperwork before patients." A recent General Accounting Office report, Johnson states, found that nearly 85% of answers provided by Medicare contractor call centers to providers were "incomplete or inaccurate," as were 32% of answers to "frequently asked questions." To "add insult to injury," doctors who follow erroneous advice can face a government fine or disciplinary action, Johnson adds. The GAO report found that only 26 full-time Medicare employees are assigned to "oversee contractor relations" for providers -- about the same number of people that a small Texas hospital employs simply to handle Medicare billing procedures. Johnson states that to remedy this "broken" system, her bill would offer education and technical assistance to providers, and would "protect" their rights during audits. The bill would also create an ombudsman to assist providers with regulatory problems and would establish a demonstration program of audits "that will provide intense and targeted technical assistance to our smaller providers, who usually serve seniors in poorer rural and urban areas," Johnson says. She continues, "Although Medicare faces other challenges -- modernizing it with benefits like prescription drugs and shoring up its long-term financial solvency as Baby Boomers retire -- the first step is to streamline and strengthen the program from within to make sure it prioritizes patients over paperwork. If the Senate doesn't move fast, Medicare's bureaucracy ... will quietly put providers under and out, with tragic consequences for seniors" (Johnson, Washington Times, 12/9).
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