ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Johnson Announces Hearing on H.R. 2768,
the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001"

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on H.R. 2768, the bipartisan "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001." The hearing will take place on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.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 the Honorable Tom Scully, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), independent program experts, and representatives of provider groups. 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.

On August 2, 2001, Chairman Nancy Johnson and Ranking Member Pete Stark (D-CA), joined by every member of the Subcommittee on Health, introduced H.R. 2768, the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001," the first major bipartisan Medicare legislation developed in the Committee on Ways and Means in the 107^th Congress. This package would extend important regulatory relief to our nation’s health care providers and modernize Medicare’s contracting processes, while protecting the program and taxpayers from potential fraud and abuse.

H.R. 2768 is intended to create a more collaborative relationship between the CMS and the providers who serve Medicare beneficiaries. The legislation was developed through months of bipartisan consultation with health care providers and with the officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for protecting the financial integrity of the  Medicare program. The bill includes provisions related to the issuance of regulations and compliance with changed policies, contracting reform, provider education and technical assistance, a small provider technical assistance demonstration program, the appeals system, recovery of overpayments and prepayment review, a beneficiary assistance demonstration, and evaluation and management guidelines.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated, "Health care providers have been overwhelmed by paperwork requirements that have nothing to do with taking care of patients. Good, responsible professionals are frustrated by a system that seemingly emphasizes policing providers rather than helping them comply with Medicare’s rules and regulations. Our bill is designed to change all of that. We want health care providers to spend their time with patients, rather than paperwork, and we want to make Medicare simpler. Program integrity must be protected - and so must provider time."

The hearing will give the Administration and other witnesses an opportunity to comment on H.R. 2768. We will hear from independent program experts as well as health care providers who would be directly impacted by the bill’s reforms.

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 or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, September 25, 2001, to Allison Giles, 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 or MS Word 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.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

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.