Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise to lend my support to H.R. 1845, as amended. This bill combines two pieces of legislation: H.R. 1845, which provides a demonstration for the coverage of home infusion of intravenous immune globulin, or IVIG, and H.R. 1063, which makes improvements to the Medicare Secondary Payer process, or MSP. However, I would like to note my concerns about the process. Our committee acted on H.R. 1063, and I commend the chairman for his efforts to ensure it was a bipartisan product, but we did not act on the IVIG legislation, which is every bit as important to our Members as the MSP. So it's my hope that in the future we can avoid situations like this. The Medicare Secondary Payer provisions of this bill will reduce the burdens of the secondary payer process for beneficiaries and other stakeholders. Most importantly, the legislation will do so in a way that ensures that we're also protecting taxpayer dollars and the Medicare trust fund. I do worry, however, that the MSP bill does not include administrative funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, to implement these new changes. One of the primary complaints I hear about MSP is that stakeholders are currently frustrated because the process does not move fast enough. But here we are, legislating new responsibilities on top of an already slow process--with no funding.…”