Have you put the summer鈥檚 deficit reduction agreement and the upcoming “” out of your mind? With Labor Day approaching, it’s time to聽pay attention again.
Photo by Karl Eisenhower/KHN
The panel鈥檚 deliberations, expected to start soon after Congress returns next week from its August recess, could have sweeping implications for government health programs, including , which covers 48 million聽elderly and disabled Americans.
A from the Kaiser Family Foundation鈥檚 Program on Medicare Policy recaps the deal鈥檚 details and deadlines, its potential implications for Medicare and how the program has been impacated in the past by聽鈥渟equestration,鈥 or automatic across-the-board cuts that will kick in as of 2013 if the committee can鈥檛 get a deal — or if it does and Congress doesn鈥檛 pass it. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.)
According to the document, upcoming Medicare issues for the panel聽include:
- Any interactions between and changes coming from the 2010 health overhaul law.
- Possible conflicts between committee recommendations and the , which was created in the health law to recommend ways to help control Medicare costs.
- A聽scheduled 29.4聽percent cut in next January and efforts to thwart that.
“In all budget decisions, there is a very delicate balancing act to be achieved between reducing federal spending聽to improve the overall financial health of the country, and not causing harm to the people served by federally funded programs,” the document notes.
