ACTION
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 04, 2003
FC-5A

CONTACT: (202) 225-3625

Thomas Announces Committee Action on H.R. 810, the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2003"

Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that on April 2, 2003, the Committee ordered favorably reported, H.R. 810, the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2003," as amended, by a recorded vote of 19-13.

DESCRIPTION OF H.R. 810 AS APPROVED:

H.R. 810 would streamline the regulatory bureaucracy in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), create a more collaborative working relationship between providers, beneficiaries, and CMS, and reform Medicare contracting. Specifically, the bill would:

· Prohibit new matter in final regulations,

· Prohibit retroactive application of new regulations,

· Reform the contracting system by consolidating Part A and B contracting functions by requiring competition among contractors and providing more flexibility for contractors,

· Improve provider and beneficiary education about their rights and benefits,

· Improve beneficiary and provider appeals,

· Reform recovery of overpayments, and

· Improve new technology integration.

ACTIONFROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Thomas Announces Committee Action on H.R. 810, the "Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2003"

ACTION
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS