Orrin Hatch: “I rise in support of this package and want to commend my colleagues on a job well done. To be fair, it would have been…”

“I rise in support of this package and want to commend my colleagues on a job well done. To be fair, it would have been my preference to do a broader bill and resolve the myriad of Medicare-, Medicaid- and CHIP-related issues we have been discussing for many months now. Given that this has proven impossible, my overriding concern is that we move ahead with flawed correction to the physician reimbursement formula, as this bill does. Indeed, while most of us would have preferred to have a longer term physician fix, this bill is a reasonable compromise. Physicians will be able to practice medicine without having their Medicare reimbursement rates significantly reduced. And that means that Medicare beneficiaries will continue to have access to quality health care. I also am pleased about other provisions in this legislation, particularly those related to policy on long-term care hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, IRFs. With regard to long-term care hospitals, Senator Conrad and I introduced legislation, S. 1958, Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Patient Safety and Improvement Act of 2007. I am proud that the long-term care hospital provisions in today's Medicare legislation are based on the legislative language from the Conrad-Hatch bill.”