Political Quotes

“on behalf of all of the physicians and other health professionals in my District who provide care to Medicare beneficiaries and on behalf of the beneficiaries themselves, I rise to express my strong support for H.R. 3391, the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2001. I am honored to be an original cosponsor of this bipartisan, common-sense bill that will provide much-needed regulatory relief and greater program fairness, clarity, and transparency. From what I have been hearing for years now in my meetings with Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers across my District, the current program is simply not working well. Beneficiaries and health professionals often don't know if services will be covered, leading some beneficiaries to forgo needed care. It can take months-- and mounds of paperwork--just to get paid for health care services. I've seen the inch-thick paperwork that can be required just to document one claim. Doctors and other health professionals feel that they are practicing with a sword over their heads. The rules and regulations are so complex that the Medicare intermediaries and carriers all too often give conflicting advice and guidance. Regulations and guidance change so frequently that it is difficult to know what the rules are at any one time, and what they will be tomorrow. Making a simple mistake in coding or misunderstanding a program requirement, health professionals fear, could well open to a fraud charge.”