Originally posted to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Headlines e-mail list on February 5, 2006.
The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). This bill includes a provision to freeze Medicare reimbursement rates at the 2005 level, thereby reversing a 4.4% cut for audiologists and other health care professionals that would have otherwise occurred. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have reported that they will begin reprocessing any claims for 2006 services that were submitted prior to the bill's enactment. ASHA collaborated with other organizations last year to reverse the cuts mandated under current law for the 2006 fee schedule.
The 4.4% cut would have occurred due to the sustainable growth rate formula (SGR) in current law, if Congress had not intervened. The SGR is used to determine the annual Medicare conversion factor update. However, the DRA only provides a one-year fix to this problem. Congress will have to again address this issue later this year or a similar cut in the fee schedule will occur in 2007.
For further information about CMS implementation of the fee schedule, please contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA's Director of Health Care Regulatory Advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4482. For further information about congressional action on the DRA, please contact Reed Franklin, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, at rfranklin@asha.org or 800-498-2071, ext. 4473.
Reprinted by permission of the American Speech-Lanuage-Hearing Association.
