On the recordDecember 4, 2001
As a physician in the earlier 1990s when I was taking care of Medicare patients, sometimes we would do a procedure where it might or might not be considered medically necessary by Medicare. All that we wanted was to know whether Medicare would cover this or not. So at that time the data could be gathered together, send in the physical exam and tests, and Medicare would give their opinion. Then they stopped doing that. I think it scared a lot of patients from not having medically necessary procedures. Mr. Speaker, that has been worked out in this bill. I thank the members of both committees and both parties for working on this. I think this will be a big improvement for patients.
Source
govinfo.gov
