[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11519-H11520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MEDICARE MARKET BASKET UPDATE FOR HOSPITALS

  (Mr. GINGREY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the market 
basket update to hospitals provided for in the House-Senate Medicare 
agreement. This legislation will supply a full update for hospitals 
that submit data for a set of 10 quality indicators.

                              {time}  1015

  Those hospitals that do not submit data would receive updates of 0.4 
percent less than the market basket level.
  It is imperative that our hospitals and especially, Mr. Speaker, our 
rural hospitals receive this full update in order to ensure that they 
maintain the ability to provide needed goods and services.
  I stressed the importance of this issue by offering a letter to the 
Medicare conferees urging them to reject the proposed market basket 
reduction to hospitals and ensure that the final Medicare legislation 
delivers unfettered improvements for rural health

[[Page H11520]]

care and a full market basket update for hospitals. Over 120 of my 
colleagues joined me in that effort.
  I urge my colleagues to continue to back this provision in the final 
version of the bill and show support for our hospitals by its passage.

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