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Therapy cap moratorium included in Senate budget plan

Rehab Regs, November 11, 2005

The Senate voted 52 to 47 to adopt a one-year extension of the moratorium on implementation of the Medicare Therapy Cap as part of its budget reconciliation package (S 1932), reports PT Bulletin Online.

This bodes well for those trying to protect Medicare beneficiary access to physical therapist services.

The House version of the budget bill also won committee approval last week and is expected to be voted on by the full House soon. This bill, however, does not include therapy cap provisions or any Medicare policy changes.

The lack of Medicare provisions in the House could complicate negotiations to resolve differences between its bill and the Senate version of the budget bill in the coming weeks. The Senate bill also includes a 1% increase in 2006 payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule (as opposed to the 4.4% cut announced by CMS) and an extension of the 50% admissions criteria threshold for inpatient rehabilitation facilities through June 30, 2007.

Other provisions would establish "pay for performance" standards in Medicare and allow families with children with disabilities and incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level to "buy in" to Medicaid coverage. The Senate bill also prohibits the establishment of new physician-owned specialty hospitals.

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