Medicare Deadline Passes With No Agreement, But Conferees Report Continued Progress

Medicare conferees, while acknowledging that they missed a leadership-imposed October 17 deadline to reach agreement on Medicare reform and prescription drug benefit legislation, report that they continue to get closer to producing a deal.

Conferees have been meeting daily for weeks in the hopes of reconciling House and Senate Medicare bills into a conference report that would pass both chambers and be enacted into law before Congress adjourns for the year.

The Conferees report that they are closer to agreement in a number of areas, such as giving employers larger subsidies to retain retiree drug coverage and requiring higher-income beneficiaries to pay higher premiums for the new drug benefit, but some of the most controversial issues in the legislation remain, including whether to require the traditional fee-for-service program to compete with private plans for beneficiaries' business. The conferees have not taken up any provider reimbursement issues, including provisions to revise the current AWP reimbursement formula. Many in Washington believe provider issues will be dealt with at the end.

As the October 17 deadline passed, rumors abounded about when and if the Congress would complete work on the Medicare legislation. Some Members of Congress suggest that the end of the month (Oct. 31) may now be the new goal. ASH will continue to update members about Medicare and AWP developments on this site.