Public Policy Update: February 9, 2012
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February 9, 2012
Twenty Congressional negotiators appointed by the House and Senate to work out a bipartisan deal on a long-term extension of the Medicare pay fix met on Tuesday for the latest round of talks.
The current negotiations are the latest in an ongoing debate over how to prevent a steep Medicare physician pay cut that would go into effect at the end of this month without Congressional action. Over the last several years, legislators have repeatedly faced the specter of an ever-growing physician pay cut – but ongoing disagreement over how to pay for a permanent solution has prevented legislators from reaching a deal. Instead, Congress has enacted a series of bills to temporarily stave off the scheduled cuts. The latest such agreement was enacted just two months ago and will expire on February 28.
At issue in the negotiations is a price tag that could be a high as $160 billion over 10 years for the package of “extenders” that includes the Medicare physician payment fix, an extension of the payroll tax cut, and extended unemployment benefits. Republican negotiators have consistently pushed for offsetting the entire cost of the package with cuts elsewhere. This week, they offered several proposals amounting to $70 billion in offset costs, including a one-year pay freeze for federal workers, a measure to raise Medicare premiums on some people and a proposal that would allow the government to reclaim some subsidies for individuals’ purchase of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Democratic negotiators rejected the proposed offsets, arguing that cuts should not come on the backs of Medicare beneficiaries and federal workers. This move cast doubt on the future of the negotiations, as both sides lambasted the others’ unwillingness to cede ground on the offset question. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has said that he will put forward his own legislation if the negotiators could not reach a deal. Meanwhile, Democratic Senators. Carl Levin (MI) and Kent Conrad (ND) have introduced a bill they hope will provide a possible bipartisan offset, a measure aimed at closing offshore tax havens and corporate tax loopholes.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has added his name as a cosponsor of the Behavioral Health IT Act of 2011 (S. 539). This legislation would extend federal incentive payments for the meaningful use of health information technology to certain behavioral health providers and organizations that cannot receive the payments under current law.
S. 539 was introduced in March of 2011 by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Senator Brown’s support brings the total number of Democratic and Republican cosponsors to 15: Daniel Akaka (HI); Mark Begich (AK); Jeff Bingaman (NM); Richard Blumenthal (CT); Robert Casey (PA); Susan Collins (ME); Daniel Inouye (HI); Tim Johnson (SD); John Kerry (MA); Frank Lautenberg (NJ); Robert Menendez (NJ); Jack Reed (RI); Bernard Sanders (VT); and Charles Schumer (NY).
With only a few dozen of the thousands of bills introduced in each Congress ever becoming law, having many cosponsors on a bill substantially increases its chances of passage. If you have not already done so, please click here to send your Senators an email asking for their support of behavioral health IT. If your Senator is already a cosponsor, you can use the same link to thank them for their support!
The Affordable Care Act broadens the definition of fraud, increases financial penalties, and establishes new government audit programs in behavioral health. For the first time, compliance programs are mandatory conditions of enrollment in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. How do you keep up with new and emerging mandates and prepare for an increasing number of investigations and audits? The National Council offers all the resources you need:
- Compliance Watch: The only publication of its kind in behavioral health, Compliance Watch is brought to you by the National Council and edited by Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP. The newsletter features articles by experts sharing their successes in reducing audit and investigatory risk while maintaining high clinical standards. Subscribers receive regular email updates listing the latest articles available online, as well as alerts on breaking news. To start or renew your Compliance Watch subscription for 2012, visit our web store.
- Full Day Conference University, “Health Reform Toughens Up on Compliance: Prepare Now”: If you’re not already prepared for health reform’s new compliance requirements, you will be after this corporate compliance boot camp. Experts from the Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell staff outline emerging enforcement strategies and examine the impact on your organization, identifying your areas of exposure and detailing the steps you must take to protect your agency and yourself. Slots are still available for this crucial training, to be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, right before the National Council’s annual conference in Chicago. Sign up here.
- Conference Session: “Fraud Enforcement: Is Your Corporate Compliance Program Ready?”: This 90-minute workshop, to be held during the National Council’s annual conference in Chicago, explores the new measures designed to identify and prevent health care fraud. These measures expand the scope of false claims, mandate corporate compliance programs, and expand government audits and investigations. Workshop faculty will provide strategies for implementing effective compliance programs that foster a culture of compliance and minimize potential financial exposures. Click here to register for the conference and see a preliminary program.
Have you ever wished that Congress would enact YOUR best ideas into law? If you have, you’re not alone. At Hill Day 2012, join over 500 behavioral health providers, executives, consumers, and family members in urging your legislators to support strong policies for the mental health and addictions safety net.
Congressional staff report that in-person visits from constituents do more to influence legislators’ decision-making than any other kinds of communication. And the results of Hill Day are tangible. To give just one example, last year Congress enacted funding increases for the mental health and addictions block grants – one of our attendees’ primary “asks” at Hill Day 2011.
Registration for Hill Day is free, so don’t wait – register and book your hotel room today!
And that’s not all: You don’t have to wait until Hill Day to make your opinions heard in Congress. This week marks the start of our Monthly Advocacy Challenge – another opportunity to share your ideas for a change or two with your Representatives and Senators.
Here’s how it works: during any of the months from now until Hill Day (February, March, April, May), be the person who sends the most messages to your Members of Congress through our Action Alert system, and you’ll be recognized as our Advocate of the Month!
No application is necessary. Winners are determined based on the National Council’s Action Alert records. The Advocates of the Month will be recognized in National Council publications, on our social media sites, and at Hill Day 2012.
