As lawmakers return to the Capitol Sept. 9 to begin their fall legislative session, provider group lobbyists and congressional aides are optimistic that a new Medicare provider reimbursement system will be in place by year’s end. In part because of lower cost estimates for a Medicare payment fix, lawmakers and provider groups alike see this year as a “make or break” opportunity to push through a plan to repeal and replace the current system, according to stakeholders and congressional aides from both parties. Other legislative items that could gain congressional attention over the next few months include: A push by a group of House and Senate Republicans to defund or trim back provisions of the Affordable Care Act, either as part of a debt limit increase or a measure to fund the government after Sept. 30; A legislative proposal by members of the House Republican Study Committee spelling out their ideas to replace the ACA; and Ongoing scrutiny by Republican-led House committees of the Obama administration’s implementation of the ACA, including enrollment of the uninsured in new health insurance marketplaces beginning Oct. 1. In late July, just before Congress adjourned for a five-week recess, the House Energy and Commerce Committee—with…
