Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008, to override the presidential veto of H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.  In addition to staving off cuts in Medicare reimbursement to physicians, the Act also makes modest improvements for Medicare beneficiaries.  For further details on how H.R. 6331 affects beneficiaries, visit http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/Reform_08_07.10.HR6331.htm.

Of immediate significance to Medicare beneficiaries, the law extends the Qualified Individual (QI) program, which expired on June 30, 2008, until December 31, 2009. The reauthorization of the QI program is made whole back to July 1.  Beneficiaries will be reinstated in the program and need not reapply.  The law also delays implementation of the DMEPOS competitive bidding program, which would otherwise have gone into effect on July 1, 2008, in 10 areas around the country.

The Center for Medicare Advocacy thanks everyone who took action to ensure that this important legislation passed.  We will provide a more detailed analysis of pertinent provisions of the new law in future Weekly Alerts.