House Passes Medicare Bill
by Government Relations Staff
June 24, 2008 --Today the House passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331) by an overwhelming majority of 355-59, including all Democrats present and 129 Republicans.
The APA Practice Organization strongly supported H.R. 6331, which would:
Restore five percent ($45 million) for 18 months to funding for psychotherapy and related services cut in 2007 as a result of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service's (CMS) five-year review.
Every five years, CMS looks at certain codes and determines whether they are overvalued or undervalued. After the decision was made to boost payment for "evaluation and management" (E/M) codes starting January 1, 2007, budget neutrality requirements forced a reduction in payment for all other codes. This payment cut hit psychologists the hardest because of their ineligibility for E/M reimbursement and the way in which the value of psychological services is calculated.
Phase in Medicare coinsurance parity.
Currently, Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for 50 percent of the bill for mental health services, but only 20 percent for other services. Under the coinsurance parity provision in the Senate bill, by 2014 mental health services would enjoy the same 80 - 20 percent split. This gradual change would help alleviate the financial shortfall suffered by many practitioners who are unable to collect the coinsurance from the beneficiary. The House, with strong support from the APAPO, last year passed legislation that includes immediate 80-20 percent parity for Medicare coinsurance.
Halt the 10.6 percent Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cut.
The SGR is part of a formula that determines each year if Medicare reimbursements will increase or decrease from the year before. For the last six years, the reimbursement rate has dropped, and every year Congress has taken action to stop the cut from taking effect. In December 2007, Congress delayed implementation of the cut from taking effect for six months. That six-month delay ends on July 1. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act would further postpone the cut and implement a 1.1 percent update for 2009.
Once again, psychologists across America played an important role in this victory, sending more than 14,800 messages in support of the restoration provision this year and more than 2,600 messages in the past four days alone.
Today's action marks the third time Congress has considered Medicare legislation including psychology's restoration provision and the second time such legislation has passed the House. With the June 30 deadline quickly approaching, attention now turns back to the Senate, where leaders are expected to try to move a similar bill soon.
