FACTBOX: Medicare companies watch bill impacting pay
(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to cut billions of dollars in Medicare spending on private health plans to preserve funding for payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients.
U.S. lawmakers face a June 30 deadline to pass legislation blocking a scheduled 11 percent pay cut for Medicare doctors. Analysts believe key Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are close to reaching a compromise on the issue before lawmakers leave on Friday for a July break.
Following is a summary of what is at stake for various health care sectors in the Medicare legislation:
PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS
To pay for a legislative fix on doctors' pay, Democrats are targeting about $13 billion in cuts to private health plans that contract with the government for patients on Medicare, the federal health plan for 44 million elderly and disabled. A Republican bill in the Senate proposes smaller cuts, but would still include billions of cuts to Humana Inc, Aetna Inc and UnitedHealth Group Inc.
The Bush administration has said it will veto any cuts to private plans in Medicare, but analysts expect the White House to go along with smaller cuts.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, OXYGEN SERVICES
Makers of so-called durable medical equipment (DME) such as oxygen supplies and sleep apnea products hope the legislation will include a delay in Medicare's competitive bidding program.
Intended to combat fraud and overcharging to Medicare, the plan would initially limit bidders and prices in 10 markets and the government has said it intends to expand it nationwide.
A delay in the program would benefit Apria Healthcare Group Inc, Lincare Holdings Inc, ResMed Inc and Kinetic Concepts Inc, among others.
Separate pay cuts to oxygen providers are also under consideration.
ANEMIA, MEDICAL LABS
Use of biotech giant Amgen Inc's anemia drug, Epogen, could fall under dialysis reimbursement changes included in both the Senate and House versions. Dialysis service providers administering less of the anemia drug Epogen because providers are given incentives to use minimal dosing, analysts said.
Clinical labs such as Laboratory Corp, Quest Diagnostics Inc and Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc are also watching the legislation for any changes affecting them.
The lab industry is also fighting a competitive bidding program, which has been halted by a U.S. court and wants the legislation to codify the blocking of that program.
(Reporting by Kim Dixon in Washington; Editing by Andre Grenon)
