FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-3943
June 24, 1999
No. HL-7
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 proposals to allow veterans hospitals and medical clinics to receive reimbursement from Medicare for providing care to Medicare-eligible veterans. These demonstration proposals have been referred to as "veterans subvention." The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 1, 1999, in room 1310 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. 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:
Current law generally prohibits other government agencies from receiving reimbursements for providing Medicare-covered services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. "Subvention" is the term given to proposals which would permit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to receive reimbursement from the Medicare Trust Funds for care provided to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries at VA medical facilities.
The VA serves millions of veterans each year in 172 VA hospitals and 439 VA outpatient clinics. Many of these veterans are eligible for Medicare, and the medical care provided by the VA to these Medicare-eligible veterans is not reimbursed by Medicare. The goal of veterans subvention is to implement an alternative for delivering accessible and quality care to Medicare-eligible veterans, without increasing the cost to VA or to Medicare. In principle, Medicare-eligible military retirees who enrolled in the subvention program would get higher priority at military facilities than before, permitting them to get Medicare-covered care from VA, a new alternative to retirees' current Medicare options. Subvention could allow VA to augment appropriated funds with Medicare payments and to use excess capacity where it exists. Medicare might gain because, under veterans subvention, Medicare would pay VA less than the rate paid to private Medicare providers and managed care plans.
In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4567, which included the Veterans Medicare Access Improvement Act of 1998. The Committee on Ways and Means approved similar legislation (H.R. 3828) in May 1998. Under those measures, veterans medical facilities would be permitted to receive Medicare reimbursement for health care services provided to Medicare-eligible veterans. The legislation also included a number of safeguards to ensure the Medicare Trust Funds are unharmed. A similar demonstration was established for Defense Department facilities as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33).
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Thomas stated: "American veterans, especially those who are poor and suffer from service-connected disabilities, should have access to quality health care in return for their service to our country. Last year, we passed legislation making veterans subvention possible. This has long been a high priority for America's vets. It should be a high priority for the U.S. Congress this year as well."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on various proposals to permit veterans' medical facilities to receive Medicare reimbursement for providing care to Medicare-eligible veterans. The Subcommittee will also consider proposals put forward by the Administration and other Members of Congress.
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, July 15, 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.