The House voted not to act this year on legislation to reduce Medicare spending.

President Bush today may veto H.R. 6331, a measure that would temporarily delay the full implementation of therapy caps and a 10.6% cut in Medicare physician pay.

Redesigning the regulatory survey of nursing homes would help determine how far current resources can be stretched to improve quality, according to a panelist who participated in a long-term care reform conference held on Friday.

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Friday said they believed they could override a presidential veto of a Medicare bill that would block implementation of therapy caps and halt a 10.6% cut in Medicare physician pay.

President Bush indicated Thursday that he plans to veto the Medicare bill that would restore the exceptions process for Medicare Part B therapy caps and would block a scheduled physician payment cut.

After keeping the healthcare community in a state of uncertainty for several days, the Senate late Wednesday passed the Medicare bill that continues the exceptions process for Medicare Part B therapy caps and delays other onerous healthcare regulations.

A healthcare system that proposes giving gift cards to residents and other customers it disappoints with poor service is on firm legal ground, federal regulators say.

States should more thoroughly investigate deaths of people with developmental disabilities who were receiving home- and community-based services for care, according to a new government report. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should pressure states to review such deaths more closely, the Government Accountability Office says.

Senate Democratic leaders are hoping for a vote on the critical Medicare bill by the end of the week, news and industry sources say.

Democratic senators return from their holiday recess this week with a clear objective: to vote on the now-familiar H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act.