7/16/2008
MEDICARE UPDATE and ALERT
On July 15, 2008, the President vetoed the Medicare legislation that had been passed by the House and Senate by veto-proof margins. That same afternoon, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 became law when the House and Senate voted to override President Bush’s veto of the bill. The House went first, with a landslide vote of 388-41, and the Senate followed 70-26.
The final bill, H.R. 6331, prevents a 10.6 percent fee cut for physicians and gives doctors an update for the remainder of 2008 and again in 2009. The legislation also delays CMS’ DMEPOS competitive bidding program for 18 months without using the O&P fee schedule to offset the cost of this provision. Instead, fees for DME items currently subject to competitive bidding will be cut by 9.5%. In light of the fact that the new law extends several critical provisions through 2009, it is highly likely that the O&P fee schedule will receive an annual CPI update in 2009, as it did in 2008.
