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Committee on Ways and Means For Immediate Release Putting Patients Before Paperwork WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, September 11, the Subcommittee on Health will welcome CMS Administrator Tom Scully as it considers bipartisan Medicare legislation aimed at putting patients before paperwork. Chairman Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Ranking Member Pete Stark (D-CA), joined by every member of the Subcommittee on Health, recently introduced H.R. 2768, the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001." The proposal 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 proposal was developed through months of bipartisan consultation with health care providers and with officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for protecting the financial integrity of the Medicare program. 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 focuses more on policing providers than on helping them comply with Medicare’s rules and regulations." WHAT: H.R. 2768, "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001" Hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee WITNESS: *The Honorable Tom Scully, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) *Ms. Leslie Aronovitz, Director of Healthcare Program Administration and Integrity Issues, The General Accounting Office *Ms. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, MACP, Immediate Past President, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine *Ms. Susan Wilson, RN, MPH, Vice President for Clinical Operations and Chief Operating Officer, VNA of Central Connecticut WHEN: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. WHERE: 1100 Longworth House Office Building |