The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the President’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2011 Budget this week at which Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified.
In response to Senator Blanche Lincoln’s (D-AR) questions regarding therapy caps, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) indicated that he is drafting legislation to extend the therapy caps exceptions process and other expiring programs.
The Senate-passed “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” included a number of extensions, which Chairman Baucus could include in a Medicare extenders package:
• Extension of the floor on geographic adjustments to the work portion of the Medicare physician fee schedule through 2010
• Extension of the process allowing exceptions to limitations on medically necessary therapy until December 31, 2010
• Extension of policy that directly reimburses qualified rural hospitals for specified laboratory services through the end of 2010
• Extension of bonus Medicare payments to ambulance services provided in rural and other areas through 2010
• Extension of two provisions included in Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 for one year: (1) no application of 25 percent patient threshold payment adjustment to freestanding and grandfathered LTCHs; and (2) moratorium on the establishment of LTCHs, long-term care satellite facilities and on the increase of LTCH beds in existing long-term care hospitals or satellite facilities
• Extension of physician fee schedule mental health add-on to increase the payment for psychiatric services by 5 percent
• Extension of gainsharing demonstration between hospitals and physicians through September 30, 2011
Chairman Baucus indicated that various Medicare provisions, including a short-term fix to prevent the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut from going into effect as scheduled on March 1, may be included in a Senate Democratic jobs bill. Debate continues as to whether the bill should be fully offset; however, the Senate seems to be leaning toward advancing a paid for bill.
