From list at ptidaho.org  Thu Oct 22 16:50:52 2009
From: list at ptidaho.org (PTIdaho.org List)
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:50:52 -0600
Subject: [List] Senate Finance Committee Passes Reform Legislation
Message-ID: <20091022165052.m25tsjjc0gcwc8go@webmail.ptidaho.org>



   Sent to you by Jill Cooper, IPTA. To comment please?USE  
OFFICE at PTIDAHO.ORG RATHER THAN THE REPLY BUTTON.SENATE FINANCE  
COMMITTEE PASSES REFORM LEGISLATION
On October 13, the Senate Finance Committee passed its $829 billion  
health care reform legislation with some important provisions for  
physical therapists, including a 2-year extension of the therapy cap  
exceptions process, a 1-year fix for the sustainable growth rate (SGR)  
at a .5% increase, an extension of the 1.00 floor for geographic  
practice cost indices (GPCI) for an additional 2 years, a ban on  
specialty hospitals self-referral, increased transparency on  
disclosure of financial relationships between physicians and referred  
professional services, and a program in the Centers for Medicare and  
Medicaid Services' Innovation Center to research direct access models  
for expanding access to physical therapy for Medicare beneficiaries in  
rural areas. The bill now has to be merged with the Senate Committee  
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions' legislation, which was  
passed in July, before a proposal can be brought to the full Senate  
for a vote.
?
APTA members have been instrumental in securing provisions in reform  
legislation that protect physical therapy patients and advance the  
profession. As the health care debate enters the next critical stages,  
continued efforts are urgently needed to ensure that these provisions  
are included in the final reform proposal. Become involved in APTA's  
grassroots network, PTeam, at www.apta.org, insert PTeam in the search  
box. You will receive action alerts and important updates on health  
care reform and other legislative initiatives.

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From list at ptidaho.org  Mon Oct 26 09:17:35 2009
From: list at ptidaho.org (PTIdaho.org List)
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:17:35 -0600
Subject: [List] Senate Votes NO on Cloture for SGR Fix Bill - S 1776
Message-ID: <20091026091735.41hz2z0lwo88so0s@webmail.ptidaho.org>



   Sent by IPTA. To respond use office at ptidaho.org.

   For info: contact IPTA Federal Government Affairs Liaison, Jan  
Yingst at primarytherapysource2 at yahoo.com.

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   SENATE VOTES NO ON CLOTURE FOR SGR FIX BILL - S 1776

   On October 21st, the Senate voted on a procedural measure to bring  
Sen. Debbie Stabenow?s (D-MI) S. 1776, the "Medicare Physicians  
Fairness Act of 2009" to the floor for debate.? The motion failed by a  
vote of 47-53, which stops further consideration of the bill.? The  
opposing votes included thirteen Democrats, who were concerned that  
the $245 billion cost of the bill was not offset.? The legislation  
would have eliminated the sustainable growth rate (SGR) and prevented  
a 21% reduction in Medicare payments to providers on January 1, 2010.

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