President Obama Signs Medicare Extender Bill for 2011
On December 15, President Obama signed the "Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010," which  stabilizes Medicare physician payments at current rates for 12 months, through the end of 2011.  

In addition to providing a 12-month reprieve from the 25 percent Medicare physician payment cut that was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011, the law extends the 5% increase in payments for psychotherapy codes that first went into effect in 2008, and was retroactively reinstated for 2010 as part of the health reform legislation last March.  It is significant that the Extenders Act includes funds to enable Medicare contractors to reprocess claims for physician services affected by provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last spring with a retroactive effective date of January 1, 2010. There had been some question as to what psychiatrists needed to do to receive their retroactive payments, and now it appears that the contractors should be taking care of this without the need to request that individual claims be reprocessed.  We'll post more information when it is available.

Update: House Passes "Doc Fix" Bill
On December 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4994, the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, providing a 12-month extension of Medicare physician payment rates and blocking a drastic 25% cut from taking effect on January 1. The bill also includes a one-year extension of the 5% "bump" in payment for outpatient psychotherapy services under Medicare. These provisions will remain in effect through December 31, 2011.

The Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act now heads to the President's desk for signature into law. This is a significant win for APA members and all physicians nationwide. The 12-month reprieve will add stability to the Medicare program for all of next year, while also allowing time for Congress to develop -- with physician input -- a long-term and permanent resolution to the flawed Medicare payment formula.  

Senate Passes 12-month Medicare Payment "Fix"  
On Wednesday, December 8, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed a measure to extend current Medicare physician payment rates for all of 2011, blocking cuts on the order of 25% scheduled for January 1. The Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, introduced in the Senate as H.R. 4994, would protect physicians from damaging disruption in Medicare payment through December 31, 2011. The bill also includes a one-year extension of the 5% "bump" in payment for outpatient psychotherapy services under Medicare. Although House passage is still required before the bill can be sent to the President for signing, Senate passage is a very big win for all APA members.

We are continuing to work with the American Medical Association and other medical specialty societies to secure House approval of this most important 12-month Medicare "doc fix." The reprieve will add stability to the Medicare program for all of next year, while also allowing time for Congress to develop -- with physician input -- a long-term and permanent resolution to the flawed Medicare payment formula. As noted, the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act now moves to the House for consideration.

THANK YOU for taking the time to be a part of APA's grassroots advocacy efforts! 

APA's Political Action Committee (APAPAC) is working every day to bolster the advocacy and grassroots lobbying efforts of APA members. Help us make more of an impact by joining us today at www.psych.org/pac.  

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS BILL? CONTACT: 
Nicholas Meyers, Director, Department of Government Relations:advocacy@psych.org