Cleared the House: Extension for 2008 MFS and Grandfather
December 20, 2007
PSA has learned that Senate Bill S.2499, the "Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007", which was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate on Tuesday, also cleared the House yesterday by a vote of 411 to 3.
The bill, the details of which were just made public yesterday, directs CMS to suspend the -10.1 % update to the Conversion Factor used in calculation of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule which had been scheduled to take effect on January 1, and replace it with a +0.5% increase for the period beginning January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008. Under the terms of this bill, the Conversion Factor is to be recomputed consistent with existing law beginning July 1, which would have the effect of applying the originally scheduled reduction at that time; however, it is believed that the intent of this bill is to allow the Congress additional time in the spring to deal more fully with the problems in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule update process.
Other key issues addressed in the bill include:
* Extends the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) floor of 1.0 through June 30, 2008
* Extends the TC Grandfather exception through June 30, 2008
* Extending the Physician Quality Reporting System through 2009