Snowstorm in capital sidelines discussions on therapy caps, Medicare physician pay cut

White House will not touch Medicaid in proposed budget

A snowstorm that pummeled the East Coast this week has delayed the Senate's consideration of a jobs bill that would extend the Medicare Part B therapy caps exceptions process and prevent a pay cut for Medicare physicians, according to reports from Washington.

Under the Senate jobs bill, the $1,860 reimbursement cap for physical and speech therapy combined and occupational therapy alone would be offset until Dec. 31, 2010, the Bureau of National Affairs reported. The proposed jobs package also would delay implementation of a scheduled Medicare physician pay cut by seven months. The cut is currently scheduled for March 1. The House passed its version of the jobs bill last month.

The massive snowstorm dropped dozens of inches of snow on the capital over the last few days, causing most of the federal government to halt its operations. It is unclear when negotiations will resume.