Therapy Caps Exceptions Process Extension Included In Jobs Bill

Therapy Caps Exceptions Process Extension Included In Jobs Bill After a draft of a bipartisan comprehensive jobs bill was released earlier in the week and then pulled back by Senate Democrats, Senate Finance Committee leaders Thursday issued a draft of a new jobs-creation bill that included provision which would extend the Medicare Part B therapy caps exceptions process and delay through September 30 an impending 21% cut in payments for Medicare physicians. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) posted the draft of the  Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE) online, along with a summary. Among other provisions, the bill would provide relief to skilled nursing facilities which have been struggling with the expiration of the exceptions process for Medicare therapy caps. Many residents are at risk of bumping up against the caps ($1,860 for physical and speech therapy combined, and $1,860 for occupational therapy) until Congress acts to restore the exceptions process. AHCA and other stakeholders in the therapy community have been working aggressively on Capitol Hill to get Congress to address the therapy cap issue. The Democratic leadership is proposing to use the jobs bill to move a number of health care and tax items often referred to as “extenders” because they extend items that are expiring, such as the exceptions process on the therapy cap and a provision preventing a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payments from taking place.  Republican support for the slimmer jobs bill is uncertain at this time, and if Senate Republicans are unified in opposition to the legislation, they could block its passage.

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