On August 2^nd, the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act (H.R. 2768) was introduced by House Ways and Means Subcommittee chairwoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) and Fortney H. Stark (R-Conn) and co-sponsored by 19 representatives including all members of the subcommittee. The legislation is designed to ease the Medicare paperwork burden on health providers and begin reforms at CMS.

In a press release from the Committee on Ways and Means, Chairman Johnson said, "Good health care is about patients, not paperwork. America’s physicians must be freed from the flood of forms. This major legislation proposes concrete steps to rein in the demands Washington imposes on providers while ensuring that Medicare continues to meet the needs of America’s seniors."

To read a copy of the reform act visit: http://www.house.gov/ways_means/press/2001/august/8-3-01.htm.