Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and ranking member Jim McGrery, R-La., enumerated the priorities of the House Committee on Ways and Means in a letter sent to the chairmen of the House Government Reform and House Administration committees. Among the many oversight activities that the Health Subcommittee will tackle during the 110th Congress is the Medicare program, including examining the relationship between payment policy and the future supply of doctors; overpayment to providers; waste, fraud, and abuse; the adequacy of cost-sharing arrangements; quality improvement initiatives; accreditation; and treatment of low-income beneficiaries and those with disabilities. For Medicare Part D, the subcommittee will evaluate administrative costs, drug pricing, formularies for covered drugs, and late enrollment penalties. The agenda also includes oversight of health coverage and the uninsured, options to expand coverage, and the use of health savings accounts and their influence on healthcare spending. In addition, the subcommittee will review emergency health care and possible reforms, health IT, price and quality transparency efforts, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ budget, accountability, and staffing.
The Subcommittee on Oversight named as one of its priorities evaluating “overall IRS efforts to monitor tax-exempt organization activities, prevent abuse, and ensure timely information to the public about charity activities and finances.” The subcommittee will also review how tax provisions “affect charitable efforts and the ability of these organizations to serve those in need.” Read the letter.
