Democrats on Capitol Hill Look for Way Out of Healthcare Morass
NAAOP
Description
Collection
Title:
Democrats on Capitol Hill Look for Way Out of Healthcare Morass
Creator:
NAAOP
Date:
2/8/2010
Text:
Democrats on Capitol Hill Look for Way Out of Healthcare Morass
The Massachusetts special election in mid-January brought an abrupt halt to
healthcare reform negotiations just as Congressional Members and staff
appeared to be nearing a final deal. Losing the 60th vote in the Senate
means that Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof majority and must,
therefore, negotiate in a more bipartisan fashion.
The question now is how to proceed? Many complicating factors exist. First
and foremost, the temporary reprieve for the Medicare physician fee schedule
runs out at the end of February. If Congress does not extend the current
freeze to the fee schedule by the end of the month, doctors and therapists
paid under the fee schedule will receive a 21% cut in fees, an untenable
situation. In addition, the Medicare outpatient therapy caps are currently
in place for the first time in years. An exceptions process to the therapy
caps was in place but expired at the end of 2009. Congress will have to act
on this issue as well or will incur the wrath of Medicare beneficiaries
losing access to rehabilitation therapies at the very time they need them
most.
As recently as February 4th, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus
suggested that Congress may tack on an additional extension to the physician
fee schedule and the therapy exceptions process until May, giving Congress
extra time to consider their options on healthcare and Medicare reforms.
These extensions in policy may be added to a bill being formulated to
address unemployment as well as job development, but whether this strategy
plays out is difficult to tell at this stage.
The larger healthcare reform package remains in legislative limbo. Since the
Senate passed a comprehensive bill, the House could simply take that same
bill to the House floor and, if they were to achieve a majority vote, send
the bill to the President for his signature. However, many Democrats in the
House find several Senate provisions unsupportable and have thus far failed
to agree on a final strategy for passage of any healthcare or Medicare
reforms, let alone a comprehensive bill. With the 2010 elections looming in
November, the pressure on both sides of the healthcare debate will continue
to build throughout the year.
The $3.55 trillion FY 2011 federal budget released by the Obama
Administration on February 1st presumes that healthcare reform will be
passed this year. It creates a $640 billion reserve fund offset by tax
increases and Medicare reforms that would be used to expand health insurance
coverage. To try to send a signal of fiscal restraint, the President's
budget also includes a three-year freeze on federal discretionary spending.
As is the case every year, however, the President's budget proposal is just
the first step in a lengthy budget process. Congress works on its own
version of the budget and seeks to pass a non-binding budget resolution. The
budget then serves as the outline for the appropriations bills which fund
the federal agencies. In short, it should be another active year for
healthcare policy and NAAOP will be there to advance the interests of O&P.
Please visit our website at: www.naaop.org
NAAOP
1501 M Street, NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20005-1700
e-mail: <Email Address Redacted>
(800) 622-6740
(202) 624-0064 Phone
(202) 785-1756 Fax
www.naaop.org
The Massachusetts special election in mid-January brought an abrupt halt to
healthcare reform negotiations just as Congressional Members and staff
appeared to be nearing a final deal. Losing the 60th vote in the Senate
means that Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof majority and must,
therefore, negotiate in a more bipartisan fashion.
The question now is how to proceed? Many complicating factors exist. First
and foremost, the temporary reprieve for the Medicare physician fee schedule
runs out at the end of February. If Congress does not extend the current
freeze to the fee schedule by the end of the month, doctors and therapists
paid under the fee schedule will receive a 21% cut in fees, an untenable
situation. In addition, the Medicare outpatient therapy caps are currently
in place for the first time in years. An exceptions process to the therapy
caps was in place but expired at the end of 2009. Congress will have to act
on this issue as well or will incur the wrath of Medicare beneficiaries
losing access to rehabilitation therapies at the very time they need them
most.
As recently as February 4th, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus
suggested that Congress may tack on an additional extension to the physician
fee schedule and the therapy exceptions process until May, giving Congress
extra time to consider their options on healthcare and Medicare reforms.
These extensions in policy may be added to a bill being formulated to
address unemployment as well as job development, but whether this strategy
plays out is difficult to tell at this stage.
The larger healthcare reform package remains in legislative limbo. Since the
Senate passed a comprehensive bill, the House could simply take that same
bill to the House floor and, if they were to achieve a majority vote, send
the bill to the President for his signature. However, many Democrats in the
House find several Senate provisions unsupportable and have thus far failed
to agree on a final strategy for passage of any healthcare or Medicare
reforms, let alone a comprehensive bill. With the 2010 elections looming in
November, the pressure on both sides of the healthcare debate will continue
to build throughout the year.
The $3.55 trillion FY 2011 federal budget released by the Obama
Administration on February 1st presumes that healthcare reform will be
passed this year. It creates a $640 billion reserve fund offset by tax
increases and Medicare reforms that would be used to expand health insurance
coverage. To try to send a signal of fiscal restraint, the President's
budget also includes a three-year freeze on federal discretionary spending.
As is the case every year, however, the President's budget proposal is just
the first step in a lengthy budget process. Congress works on its own
version of the budget and seeks to pass a non-binding budget resolution. The
budget then serves as the outline for the appropriations bills which fund
the federal agencies. In short, it should be another active year for
healthcare policy and NAAOP will be there to advance the interests of O&P.
Please visit our website at: www.naaop.org
NAAOP
1501 M Street, NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20005-1700
e-mail: <Email Address Redacted>
(800) 622-6740
(202) 624-0064 Phone
(202) 785-1756 Fax
www.naaop.org
Citation
NAAOP, “Democrats on Capitol Hill Look for Way Out of Healthcare Morass,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 6, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/231148.
