Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)

Loopholes bill summary

Congress is expected to vote this week on a bill that would restore the original implementation date for version four of the Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs) payment system.

Under this bill, RUG-IV would go into effect on Oct 1, 2010, not Oct. 1, 2011, as the new healthcare reform law states. The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act bill also would extend a temporary increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) through June 30, 2011. Another provision contained in the bill would delay for three years a pay cut for Medicare physicians. (See attached summary.)

The bill contains “many far reaching positive aspects” for the nursing home and assisted living communities, Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, said in a statement last week.