Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1836 - Federal Employees Health Care Protection Act of 1997

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)

(Rep. Burton (R) IN and 27 cosponsors)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 1836, which would improve the administration of sanctions against unfit health care providers under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The Administration, however, has concerns with a provision in the bill that increases physicians payments under the Physicians' Comparability Act from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. The Treasury/Postal appropriations act just extended this authority for three years by continuing the current law's maximum bonus of $20,000 per year, as requested by the Administration. The Administration will work with the Senate to address this issue.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

H.R. 1836 would affect both direct spending and receipts; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimate of this bill is zero.