[List] CONGRESS PASSES THE MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SCHIP EXTENSION ACT OF 2007 (S. 2499)

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CONGRESS PASSES THE MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SCHIP EXTENSION ACT OF 2007  
(S. 2499)Congress has approved legislation postponing the Medicare  
therapy cap and scheduled cuts to the physician fee schedule.  
Lawmakers on Wednesday sent to the president legislation extending the  
therapy cap exceptions process and implementing a 0.5% positive update  
in the fee-schedule conversion factor until June 30, 2008. President  
Bush is expected to sign this legislation into law. The Medicare,  
Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S 2499) contains several  
provisions important to physical therapists and their patients,  
including:* Extension of the therapy cap exceptions process through  
June 30, 2008. * Increase in the physician payment rate and extension  
of the physician quality reporting initiative (PQRI). Replaces the  
scheduled 10.1% cut to the Medicare physician reimbursement rate in  
2008 with a 0.5% increase through June 30, 2008. * Extension of the  
floor on work geographic adjustment. Extends the work geographic index  
(GPCI) floor of 1.0 through June 30, 2008. * Payments for inpatient  
rehabilitation facility (IRF) services. Permanently freezes the IRF  
services compliance threshold at 60%. Sets the market basket update  
factor at 0% from April 1, 2008, through FY09. * Reauthorization of  
SCHIP to March 2009.Click here for a summary of the provisions in The  
Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) or visit  
the Therapy Cap Resource Center on www.apta.org/advocacy .
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