Direct Therapy Supervision Bill Introduced in the House
On February 18, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) introduced H.R. 4067, a bill that will extend the moratorium on physician supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2014. Although CMS instituted its own moratorium on the supervision requirements, those were lifted on January 1, and Congress is acting in response. The House measure is a companion to S. 1954, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week. The bills are intended to give Congress more time to prepare legislation that will permanently change the supervision requirements for outpatient therapy.
CBO Says War Funds Not a Viable SGR Offset
The Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) said late last week that it doesn’t consider using money already set aside to fund war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan to be a viable way to pay for other programs, such as permanent repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) formula. This comes in contrast to a statement made by CBO in June of 2012 in which the agency indicated that funds not used for overseas contingency operations (“OCOs”) could be used to offset the cost of other legislation. Democrats on Capitol Hill want to use OCO funds to help offset the estimated $150 billion cost of permanent SGR repeal, but, for now, Republicans refuse. The rift highlights the difficulty lawmakers face as they try to find the money necessary to pass the SGR measure.
Republican Lawmakers Threaten Action over Part D Proposed Rule
On February 19, Republican leaders in the House and Senate called on HHS and CMS to withdraw proposed changes to the Medicare Part D program. In a letter, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, the chairpersons of the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees, called the proposed rule, which, they believe, interprets Part D’s ‘non-interference’ provision to allow CMS to interfere in negotiations between insurance plans and pharmacies, a proposal that is inconsistent with both agency precedent and the plain letter of the law. The lawmakers threatened legislative action if the agency allows the proposed rule to go forward.
Next Week in Congress
The House and Senate will return from the week-long President’s Day recess. On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “Messing with Success: How CMS’ Attack on the Part D Program Will Increase Costs and Reduce Choices for Seniors.” Lawmakers will also resume efforts to find the funding necessary to pay for permanent repeal of the SGR formula before the current “patch” expires on March 31.
For more information, please contact John F. Williams III at 317.977.1462 or jwilliams@hallrender.com.
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