FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-3943
March 11, 1999
No. HL-3
Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Medicare+Choice program.The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 18, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives of the Administration and a panel of experts. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33) created the Medicare+Choice program to provide seniors with a greater variety of health plan choices. Today, six million seniors, or 16 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, are enjoying the benefits of Medicare+Choice. However, the transition from Medicare's risk contracting program to the new program has not been without difficulties. Several issues need examination, including the proposed new risk adjustment method, dissemination of health plan information to seniors, and new plan requirements for quality measurement.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated: "Medicare+Choice, with its many options, is the foundation on which we can build a stronger, better Medicare program for our seniors. Continual and careful fine-tuning may be required to ensure that the Medicare+Choice program operates smoothly and efficiently. This hearing will offer the Committee an opportunity to examine several important Medicare+Choice issues."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on three key aspects of the Medicare+Choice program: making appropriate payments to health plans, providing information for seniors' health plan choices, and measuring health plan performance and quality.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, April 1, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Health office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.