Senate begins plodding through scores of amendments related to reform

The Senate has begun the cumbersome process of voting on scores of amendments already filed by the House under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590).

Several of these measures voted upon last week included the following:

1. Medicare Benefits Guarantee: this measure passed 100-0 and simply confirms that health reform initiatives will not reduce guaranteed Medicare benefits and that Medicare savings will be used to extend the solvency of the Medicare program;
2. Preventive Care Services Expansion: this amendment, proposed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), was more controversial. While it passed the Senate by a vote of 61-39, it did include a provision from Sen. David Vitter (LA) that would exclude the controversial November 2009 recommendations from the Preventive Services Task Force regarding breast cancer screening, mammography and prevention.

The Preventive Care Services Expansion would require employers to comply with these new mandates within six months of enactment of H.R. 3590 What does this mean for employers?

1.Employers would be required to offer a variety of preventive care services with no cost-sharing permitted, meaning no deductibles or coinsurance:

a. screening adults for depression;
b. intestive behavioral dietary counseling for adult patients with known risk factors for cardiovascular and diet-related chronic disease;
c. oral fluoride supplementation to preschool children older than 6 months of age;
d. screening for high blood pressure in adults aged 18 and older;
e. screening and behavioral couseling interventions to reduce alcohol misuse by adults, including pregnant women, in primary care settings.

Stay tuned for more information about potential amendments to be discussed and voted on by the Senate.