Congress passes a number of health care provisions in the current budget Congress narrowly passed a $1.1 trillion federal budget that will fund most of the federal government through September 2015. Below is a summary of key health care provisions in the bill. Within the bill, Congress expressed concern that there had not been adequate opportunity for public comment on bundling of surgical codes in the final rule of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The budget bill says that the appropriate methodology has not been tested to ensure that patient care and patient access are not negatively impacted ... December 16, 2014 General, Medicare Advocacy, Federal Legislation, Medicare, Prescription Drugs, CDC, Ebola, Recovery Audit Contractor 0 0 Comment Read More »
Congress allows veterans to seek care outside VA system Congress yesterday sent a $17 billion landmark bill to President Obama that will help U.S. veterans avoid long waits for health care within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). There was overwhelming support in both the Senate (91-3) and House (unanimous) for the bill, which will provide $10 billion in emergency spending over the next three years to allow veterans to seek care from private doctors and other health professionals due to delays in the VA system. Veterans would have access to private doctors if they could not get ... August 4, 2014 General Hospitals/Health Care Facilities, Quality of Care, Veterans, Federal Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
House passes year-long SGR patch, includes California GPCI fix This morning the U.S. House of Representatives passed a year-long patch to stop the Medicare 24 percent sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut on an unusual 30-second voice vote. Unable to come to an agreement on how to fund a permanent repeal of the badly broken formula, despite a bill with bipartisan, bicameral support, Congress appears poised to kick the can down the road for the 17th time in just 10 years. The California Medical Association (CMA) is extremely disappointed that Congress has been unable to find bipartisan funding sources ... March 27, 2014 Medicare Advocacy, GPCI, Medicare, SGR, Federal Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
