-
Senate Passes Permanent SGR Fix; Therapy Caps Exceptions Process Extended Two Years
April 16, 2015
Categories: News
On April 14th, by a vote of 92-8, the Senate passed H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, which had passed the House over two weeks ago by a wide margin. Eight Republicans voted against the bill: Senators Cruz, Lee, Perdue, Rubio, Sasse, Scott, Sessions, and Shelby. Six amendments were offered to the bill and all were defeated, including Sen. Cardin’s amendment to repeal the outpatient therapy caps. The bill will now be sent to the President who has already stated that he will... Read More
-
House Overwhelmingly Passes SGR Fix
March 26, 2015
March 26, 2015 House overwhelmingly passes SGR Fix with a 392 to 37 vote! With such a wide margin victory, it is believed this should help galvanize the Senate. Most MACs have been sending communications on guidance for holding claims should the Senate not vote before the March 31st. Be sure to read these communications so you are prepared. In order to meet the deadline, the Senate would have to have Unanimous Consent which means that if even a single Senator objects to the UC request, the... Read More
-
Capping Problems: More Than Just a Dollar Amount
February 11, 2015
Categories: Articles
As almost everyone in the rehabilitation industry is well aware, there was legislation enacted back in 1997, under the Balanced Budget Act, that placed an annual cap on rehabilitation services under Medicare. While this legislation was intended to prevent organizations from taking advantage of the system, the harmful effect of denying patients the care they desperately need has more than overshadowed the “good” of that original intent. Therapy Cap Background The Balanced Budget... Read More