May 15, 2013
If you hang around long enough, you learn there are only two things long-term care providers fear after Republicans and Democrats. That would be hospitals and doctors.
May 09, 2013
A recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid memorandum provides some clarity regarding new therapy cap notification rules, but providers still need guidance on other aspects of therapy reimbursement, according to Cynthia Morton, executive vice president of the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living came out in support of bipartisan legislation to permanently repeal Medicare Part B therapy caps for skilled nursing facilities. The legislation was introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Feb. 15.
February 15, 2013
Earlier this week, we saw lawmakers again take aim at Medicare's outpatient therapy caps. Rightfully so. Therapy caps are a dubious idea that ought to be given a decent burial.
February 06, 2013
Every time we send our patients to the hospital for rehab-related tests, exams or services, these services are billed to Medicare Part B, and, therefore, reduce our cap allowances. Any small oversights could have major impacts on our ability to successfully track therapy cap levels. Here's some help.
January 02, 2013
Well, we didn't completely go off the "fiscal cliff," but we're definitely heading for a downward slope.
November 05, 2012
Already contentious Medicare Outpatient Part B therapy caps would likely receive even more attention if the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has its way. MedPAC recommended Thursday that Congress drop the annual allowable limits from $1,880 to $1,270.
October 02, 2012
Here it comes again! The Oct 1, 2012, federal regulatory changes will not only impact reimbursement but new reporting requirements also will multiply denials for skilled nursing providers across the country.
April 05, 2012
Are the therapy caps back? Well, sort of. Here's a quick summary of the current regulations that were recently passed and how they affect you.
Members of a Congressional conference committee need to authorize the longest possible exceptions extension for Medicare Part B therapy services, according to a coalition of therapy advocates.
The U.S. Senate ends its recess Monday, six days after the House reconvened. That sets the stage for more intense lobbying over healthcare spending and other measures, including the Medicare Part B therapy caps exceptions process and how to fund Medicare doctors. Both were part of a two-month reprieve Congress approved shortly before Christmas. Long-term care providers and numerous other special interest groups will continue their blitz of lawmakers and their staff members in attempts to curry favor for what should be a much longer legislative solution this time. Also on tap: Watching intently Tuesday to see whether long-term care is mentioned in President Obama's State of the Union address.
December 19, 2011
Provider groups were anxiously awaiting a vote that is expected to be held Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The balloting could determine the short-term fate of Medicare spending for the "doc fix" and an extension to the therapy caps exception process.
December 12, 2011
Advocates for skilled nursing operators started a counteroffensive Monday in Washington to fight bad-debt provisions of a new House GOP spending bill. Introduced Friday, the bill asks skilled nursing operators to absorb more than $4.5 billion of $10 billion in bad debt losses.
December 09, 2011
House Republicans introduced legislation Friday that would extend the outpatient therapy caps exception process. Without Congressional action, the caps would go back into full effect Jan. 1. The proposed legislation also would postpone huge Medicare doctor pay cuts by two years through a package that would scuttle parts of the healthcare reform law.
December 06, 2011
Congress should extend the therapy caps exception process for medically necessary Medicare Part B outpatient therapy services, several long-term care groups said Tuesday.
April 13, 2011
A measure to terminate Medicare therapy caps will soon be introduced in Congress, a top association official said during a McKnight's Super Tuesday webcast yesterday.
February 17, 2011
Given recent flaps about hospice care in nursing homes, one has to wonder if long-term care providers are always going to be subjected to the "one step forward, one step back" syndrome.
December 22, 2010
Lawmakers have been earning their keep lately. Given all the legislation that has passed, I could not resist writing this little holiday poem.
November 11, 2010
A deficit commission's recommendations regarding cuts to Medicaid long-term care prompted some push-back Wednesday from Larry Minnix, president and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
It's hard to believe we're in the midst of another conference season. The American Health Care Association's annual meeting already has passed and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging's is about a week away.
October 13, 2010
As the end of the year approaches, long-term care providers will be lobbying to extend the therapy caps exceptions process, which is set to end Dec. 31. Another therapy issue—a proposed rule to reduce payments when multiple therapy procedures are provided to a Medicare beneficiary in one day—also is on providers' radar screens.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 66-34 to end debate on a package of healthcare stopgap measures. These include an extension of the therapy caps exceptions process.
This year's recommendations from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission don't take into account the worsening situation facing state Medicaid programs, and could prove harmful to senior care if adopted by congress, long-term care groups warned Wednesday.
If all the recent legislative action (or inaction, as the case may be) on Capitol Hill has your head spinning, don't worry—you're not alone.
February 16, 2010
Just hours after unveiling a jobs bill that would extend the therapy caps exceptions process and delay a pay cut for Medicare physicians, Senate leaders last week scrapped it in favor of a bill that contains neither of those provisions.
February 12, 2010
Senate Finance Committee leaders Thursday issued a draft of a jobs-creation bill. The legislation would extend the Medicare Part B therapy caps exceptions process and delay through Sept. 30 an impending 21% cut in payments for Medicare physicians.
February 11, 2010
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.
February 05, 2010
One bipartisan group of senators is petitioning Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to postpone implementation of the cap on Medicare Part B outpatient therapy reimbursements.
My how things change. Just a month ago a healthcare reform bill seemed en route to passage. Now its very existence is in question and, by extension, some key long-term care services are too.
The potential collapse of healthcare reform could further stall the restoration of the therapy caps exceptions process for long-term care providers. Both the House and Senate bills would extend the process, which expired at the end of 2009.
