The Bush administration on Friday sent Congress a letter that included 13 proposed spending offsets for the farm bill, such as a reduction in Medicare coverage of certain medical equipment, CQ Today reports. The proposed offsets, which total $22 billion, would allow lawmakers to increase the baseline budget for the legislation by $10 billion over 10 years (Richert, CQ Today, 3/3).

One of the proposed offsets would save $6.8 billion over 10 years through a reduction in Medicare reimbursements for oxygen equipment. Under current Medicare regulations, the program covers 36 months of oxygen for beneficiaries after they leave the hospital. Under the proposed offset, Medicare would cover only 13 months of oxygen (Hagstrom, CongressDaily, 3/4).

Other proposed offsets would save $4.3 billion over 10 years through an extension of an online Medicaid demonstration project and $3.7 billion over 10 years through an expansion of health plan selections for federal employees (Hagstrom [1], CongressDaily, 3/3).

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who has begun to draft a package of alternative offsets for the farm bill, said that lawmakers likely will support $9 billion of the $22 billion offsets proposed by the Bush administration (CQ Today, 3/3). House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) said that lawmakers likely will reach an agreement on the farm bill before Congress adjourns for a two-week recess on March 14 (Hagstrom [2], CongressDaily, 3/3).