Chuck Grassley: “I rise to note the introduction of the Medicare Geographic Fair Payment Act of 2000. I'm very pleased to join Senators…”

“I rise to note the introduction of the Medicare Geographic Fair Payment Act of 2000. I'm very pleased to join Senators Domenici, Wyden, and Kerrey in this effort. While we share the problem of low payment rates, Iowa and Nebraska are in a different situation than New Mexico and Oregon. Those two states are concerned about Medicare + Choice plans leaving, but for the most part we in Iowa are still waiting for plans to arrive. There are a number of things that have to fall into place for Medicare + Choice to become a reality in Iowa, but one of them is increasing payment rates. I want to make sure that if Congress provides any relief in Medicare + Choice this year, that low-cost areas are not forgotten. We need to make Medicare + Choice a truly national program. There are two simple Medicare + Choice payment provisions in the bill. It would raise the minimum payment floor for all counties from the current $415 to $475 in 2001. This would primarily benefit rural and small urban areas, including the vast majority of Iowa. Secondly, it would establish a new minimum payment floor of $525 for all counties in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with populations exceeding 250,000. In Iowa, this would mean a substantial incentive for plans to enter the Des Moines and Quad Cities areas. As I've said so often throughout the five-plus years that I've been working on this issue, people in low-cost states like Iowa pay the same payroll taxes as those in high-cost areas.”