Finance Committee votes 14-9 to move reform forward

The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 to move a health care reform bill forward on Tuesday. The vote fell mostly along party lines, but Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) joined Democrats in voting yes.

The next step will be merging the Finance Committee bill with another Senate bill before a vote by the Senate.  Combining the bills will be interesting to watch. We're keeping an eye out for a permanent Medicare payment fix that removes the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula responsible for 21% and 25% cuts to Medicare rates projected in 2010 and 2011. We'll also try to make sense of health insurance cooperatives and see if there's a compromise on malpractice tort reform.

Here is a summary of some key Medicare provisions in the Finance Committee bill (according to the office of Sen. Max Baucus', D-Mont.):

• As part of a tougher screening process, there would be a $350 application fee before granting billing privileges to providers and suppliers under Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP. New providers participating in the programs would be subject to a 6-12 month period of "enhanced oversight"
• A 15-member, independent Medicare Commission (similar to the Medicare Payment Advisory Council, or MedPAC) would recommend ways to reduce excess costs and improve quality of care
• The 21% cut set for 2010 by the SGR would be replaced with a positive update
• Medicare Advantage payments would be based on a competitive bidding process
• Primary care physicians and targeted general surgeons would receive a Medicare payment bonus of 10% over five years
• Eliminate out-of-pocket costs for screening and prevention services in Medicare