CONGRESS PASSES THE MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SCHIP EXTENSION ACT OF 2007 (S. 2499)  

Congress has approved legislation postponing the Medicare therapy cap and scheduled cuts to the physician fee schedule. Lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the president legislation extending the therapy cap exceptions process and implementing a 0.5% positive update in the fee-schedule conversion factor until June 30, 2008. President Bush is expected to sign this legislation into law.

The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S 2499) contains several provisions important to physical therapists and their patients, including:

• Extension of the therapy cap exceptions process through June 30, 2008.
• Increase in the physician payment rate and extension of the physician quality reporting initiative (PQRI). Replaces the scheduled 10.1% cut to the Medicare physician reimbursement rate in 2008 with a 0.5% increase through June 30, 2008.
• Extension of the floor on work geographic adjustment. Extends the work geographic index (GPCI) floor of 1.0 through June 30, 2008.
• Payments for inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) services. Permanently freezes the IRF services compliance threshold at 60%. Sets the market basket update factor at 0% from April 1, 2008, through FY09.
• Reauthorization of SCHIP to March 2009.

Click here for a summary of the provisions in The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) or visit the Therapy Cap Resource Center on www.apta.org/advocacy .

posted Dec.20, 2007

All contents copyright © New York Physical Therapy Association. All rights reserved. The Web site designed and maintained by Bibiana Braun. Please send comments and concerns to bbraun@nypta.org.