Government
Senate's health spending bill approved
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 14, 2005
The Senate late last month approved its version of the appropriations bill for the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, sending the measure into negotiations with the authors of the version that was passed by the House of Representatives.
More than $450 billion would go toward funding mandatory programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, while more than $29 billion would go toward funding the National Institutes of Health.
One point of contention with House negotiators could center on the nearly $8 billion in emergency funding that Senate leaders added to the bill to prepare for a potential avian flu outbreak.
Physician payment is addressed in a different measure. At press time, the Senate was preparing to pass a budget reconciliation bill that would guarantee doctors a Medicare raise of 1% in January 2006.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/11/14/gvbf1114.htm.
