Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5938 - Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992

(House Floor)
(Dingell (D) MI and 14 others)

The Administration supports the goal of H.R. 5938, which is to improve the quality of mammography services through the development of national quality standards. The Administration, however, believes that the H.R. 5938 embodies an overly regulatory approach. The Administration prefers a more streamlined and flexible approach that would ensure that mammography services meet the proper standards while maintaining access and minimizing regulatory burdens that may cause price increases for these essential services.

The Administration believes the bill should include waivers or an exception process for rural facilities, public health clinics, and State programs. The bill's inspection cycle and certification process are unnecessarily rigid and should allow for focused review of past performance. The bill's detailed requirements regarding technology should be left to the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the advice of an advisory committee. Additionally, the Administration believes that the direct responsibility for enforcing the quality standards should rest with the States, as it does for many Medicare and Medicaid services.

The Administration recognizes the importance of ensuring that women receive the highest quality mammography services at an affordable cost. Accordingly, the Administration will work in the Senate to support amendments consistent with those being developed by Senator Hatch to correct the deficiencies in H.R. 5938, so that both of these goals are met.

Scoring for Purposes of Pay-As-You-Go

H.R. 5933 could result in increased receipts to the Federal Government due to a provision in the bill that would impose civil penalties against facilities not complying with the bill's requirements. Therefore, H.R. 5938 is subject to the pay-as-you- go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. The Office of Management and Budget's preliminary estimate is that the pay-as-you-go effect of the bill is zero.