Two new competitive bidding reform bills introduced into the House and the Senate at the start of the 114th Congress are already starting to pick up steam by adding Congressional co-sponsors.
Last week, Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and John Larson (D-Conn.), both members of the House Ways and Means Committee launched H.R. 284, and Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced S. 148 into their respective chambers of Congress. Together, the companion pieces of legislation are known as the Medicare Competitive Bidding Improvement Act (MCBIA), and they both require bidders to obtain surety bonds that would force contract winners to live up to the amounts the bid in the program.
At a little over a week old, H.R. 284 has already picked up 34 co-sponsors. They are:
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Rep. Mark E. Amodei (Nev.) |
Rep. David Loebsack (Iowa) |
While not off to the same strong start as its House companion, S. 148’s newly gained backers are significant, because they represent the first real demonstration of support for bid reform in the Senate. Then current backers for S. 148 are:
Sen. Michael F. Bennet (Colo.)
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.)
Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Pa.)
Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.)