Other Legislation Under Discussion to Delay the Medicare Payment Cut Debated

Despite a veto threat from the White House, Senate Democrats plan to move forward in the next two weeks with a bill that would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage plans to offset delaying a 10.6% cut to Medicare physicians' payments. The physician payment cut is scheduled to take effect July 1. The bill, sponsored by Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would cost $18.2 billion over five years and would be funded through the cuts to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, which cost taxpayers more than traditional Medicare. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has indicated that President Bush will veto any Medicare bill that includes cuts to MA plans.