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Congress fails to pass Medicare legislation; Therapy caps go into full effect

Rehab Regs, July 4, 2008

After Congress failed to pass Medicare legislation before adjourning for the Fourth of July recess, the Medicare therapy caps exceptions process expired July 1 and the therapy caps went into full effect.

On Monday, representatives from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), met with CMS officials on June 30 to request an administrative extension to the therapy caps exceptions process, according to information posted on the therapy associations' Web sites. CMS denied the associations' requests for an administrative extension, allowing the caps to go into effect without exceptions.

The failure to pass Medicare legislation also resulted in a scheduled 10.6 % cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule taking effect July 1. CMS has announced that it will hold off on processing claims during the first 10 days in July to give Congress time to resolve Medicare legislation, according to information released by the APTA. If Congress does not act, those Medicare claims will still be subject to caps and cuts, according to the APTA.

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