By signing HR 4994 into law Presiden Obama prevents the scheduled 24.9% Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Medicare payment cut and extending current Medicare payment rates through December 31, 2011.
On Wednesday, President Obama signed Senate Amendment to HR 4994, the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, into law — preventing the scheduled 24.9% Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Medicare payment cut and extending current Medicare payment rates through December 31, 2011. The law also extends the therapy cap exceptions process and the 1.0 work floor of the geographical price cost index (GPCI) until December 31, 2011, and repeals the delay of the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Resource Utilization Group – Version 4 (RUG-IV). Senate Amendment to HR 4994 did not include a provision on the multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) policy for outpatient therapy. The MPPR policy, which will apply reductions to the practice expense component for the second and subsequent outpatient therapy services performed on the same day, is still scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2011.
Source: PT IN MOTION
