Congress Expected to Override Veto on Bidding Bill

On July 15, President Bush is expected to veto HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed by strong majorities. Congress is expected to override the veto on the same day it is issued, and if few members reverse their original votes, the bill will pass into law.

The bill would block for another 18 to 24 months the first round of the Medicare competitive-bidding program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS). The program was scheduled for implementation in ten metropolitan statistical areas on July 1. It would also suspend a scheduled 10.6 percent cut to Medicare's physician pay rates, replacing it with 18 months of stable payments. The bill would instead reduce costs by cutting bonus payments to private insurance companies in the Medicare Advantage program. According to the Congressional Budget Office, those costs would equal $12.5 billion over five years,

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated in Congressional Quarterly magazine, "If the President is foolish enough to veto this, the only people he's hurting are senior citizens, the medical community, the pharmacists and, of course... all the veterans... The president has made a number of foolish mistakes during the last seven and a half years. This would be near the top of the list."

The Senate passed the bill by voice vote on July 9 after voting 69 to 30 to vote on it without further debate. The House passed it, 355 to 59, on June 24.