|
1. Senate Considers Tax
Extenders Bill with Medicare Provider Relief
2. Follow Up from White
House Bipartisan Health Reform Meeting
3. Cosponsors of
Permanent Medicare Ambulance Relief Bills
4. CMS Asks MCPSS
Recipients for their Feedback
ePCR Audio Conference Series
March 11 & March 18, 2010
Orlando Regional Workshop
March 23, 2010
Early Bird Registration Deadline: March 2
Las Vegas Regional Workshop
April 20, 2010
Early Bird Registration Deadline: March 30
Stars of Life
May 2-5, 2010
Early Bird Registration Deadline: March 3
|
AAA
Government Affairs E-Update
March
3, 2010
1.
Senate Considers Tax Extenders Bill with Medicare
Provider Relief
2.
Follow Up from White House Bipartisan Health Reform
Meeting
3.
Cosponsors of Permanent Medicare Ambulance Relief Bills
4. CMS
Asks MCPSS Recipients for their Feedback
1.
Senate Considers Tax Extenders Bill with Medicare
Provider Relief
The Senate
is currently considering the Tax Extenders Act of
2009 (H.R. 4213) and is expected to vote on the
final package on Friday. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has
filed and amendment to the bill which would extend
Medicare provider relief provisions including Medicare
ambulance relief. This amendment includes one-year,
retroactive to January 1, 2010, extensions of the 2%
urban, 3% rural and super rural bonus Medicare ambulance
increases. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has filed
which would replace the Medicare provider relief
extensions of the Baucus amendment. However, the
Grassley amendment includes the same Medicare ambulance
relief provisions as the Baucus amendment.
Last night,
the Senate passed the short-term extension bill to
extend unemployment benefits, COBRA coverage and the
physician fix through the end of the month. This bill
is separate from H.R. 4213. The Senate Democratic
Leadership had hoped to fast track the bill last week
but Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) objected. The provisions
expired but CMS had informed contractors to hold claims
for ten days. This did not impact claims filed under
the Medicare ambulance fee schedule and CMS. President
Obama has already signed the physician fix extension
bill into law.
2.
Follow Up from White House Bipartisan Health Reform
Meeting
President Sends Congressional Leaders Follow Up Letter
from Health Meeting
On March 2,
President Obama sent congressional leaders a letter in
follow up to their bipartisan meeting last Thursday on
health care reform. The letter identifies areas where
the President believes Democrats and Republicans can
work together on health care reform legislation. To
access a copy of the letter, go to the White House
website at:
White
House Posts Video of Meeting on its Website
Details
of President's Proposal
For details
of the President's proposal on health care reform,
please go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting/proposal.
In regards to Medicare ambulance relief, the President's
proposal would use the provisions from the health care
reform bill which passed the Senate (H.R. 3590). H.R.
3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
would extend Medicare ambulance relief including the 2%
urban, 3% rural and super rural bonus increases through
the end of this year. The extensions of relief would be
retroactive to the beginning of this year. The Senate
bill also includes language to apply a "productivity
adjustment" which would reduce the annual Medicare
ambulance inflation update starting in 2011.
3.
Cosponsors of Permanent Medicare Ambulance Relief Bills
The
Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act (MAAPA)
was introduced in the Senate by Senators Charles Schumer
(D-NY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Jeff
Sessions (R-AL) and in the House by Congressmen Richard
Neal (D-MA) and Fred Upton (R-MI). MAAPA would provide
a permanent 6% Medicare increase for transports
originating in an urban or rural area and permanently
extend the bonus base payment of 22.6% for transports
originating in super rural areas. The AAA is currently
pushing for extensions of current Medicare ambulance
relief as well as encouraging Members of Congress to
cosponsor MAAPA.
Current
Cosponsors of the MAAPA
Below is a
list, current as of today, of members of Congress who
have officially been added as cosponsors to MAAPA.
AL: Sen.
Jeff Sessions
AR: Sen.
Blanche Lincoln, Sen. Mark Pryor
CA: Rep.
Devin Nunes
CT: Rep.
Rosa DeLauro: Rep. Chris Murphy
GA: Sen.
Saxby Chambliss, Sen. Johnny Isakson
IA: Sen.
Tom Harkin
KS: Sen.
Pat Roberts
LA: Sen.
Mary Landrieu
ME: Sen.
Susan Collins, Rep. Michael Michaud
MP: Del.
Gregorio Sablan
MA: Sen.
John Kerry, Rep. Richard Neal, Rep. James McGovern
MI: Sen.
Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Fred Upton, Rep. Dale Kildee, Rep.
Bart Stupak, Rep. Mark Schauer
MN: Sen.
Amy Klobuchar
MS: Sen.
Thad Cochran
MO: Sen.
Kit Bond
MT: Sen.
Jon Tester
NV: Rep.
Shelley Berkley
NJ: Sen.
Frank Lautenberg, Rep. Steven Rothman, Rep. Albio Sires
NY: Sen.
Charles Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Paul
Tonko
NH: Sen.
Jeanne Shaheen
ND: Sen.
Kent Conrad, Sen. Byron Dorgan
OH: Rep.
Patrick Tiberi
OR: Rep.
Peter DeFazio
PA: Rep.
Jim Gerlach, Rep. Tim Murphy, Rep. Tim Holden
RI: Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. James Langevin
SD: Rep.
Stephanie Sandlin Herseth
VT: Sen.
Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Peter Welch
WA: Rep.
Doc Hastings
WV: Rep.
Nick Rahall
WI: Rep.
Steve Kagen
4.
CMS Asks MCPSS Recipients for their Feedback
Forwarded
from CMS
Please Note: Only providers and suppliers notified that
they have been randomly selected to take part in the
2010 MCPSS may participate in this study. A new random
sample of providers and suppliers is selected annually
to participate in the MCPSS study.
CMS
Needs Your Feedback
The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is conducting the
fifth national administration of the Medicare Contractor
Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS).
This survey
is designed to collect quantifiable data on providers'
satisfaction with the performance of the Medicare
fee-for-service (FFS) contractors that process and pay
their Medicare claims. CMS conducts the MCPSS on an
annual basis and uses the results for Medicare
contractor oversight and process improvement
initiatives.
In January,
CMS notified approximately 30,000 Medicare FFS providers
and suppliers that they had been randomly selected to
participate in the 2010 MCPSS study. As representatives
of the more than 1.5 million providers nationwide who
serve Medicare beneficiaries across the country, these
providers and suppliers have an opportunity to give CMS
valuable feedback on their satisfaction, attitudes,
perceptions, and opinions about the services provided by
their respective contractor.
If you have
been notified that you were selected to participate in
this study and have not yet done so, CMS is listening
and wants to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to
go online and complete your survey via a secure online
Internet survey tool. Responding online is a convenient,
easy, and quick way to provide CMS with your feedback.
Survey questionnaires can also be submitted by mail,
secure fax, and over the telephone. The survey takes
approximately 20 minutes to complete.
CMS has
contracted with SciMetrika, a public health consulting
firm, to administer this important survey and report
statistical data to CMS. If you received notification
that you were selected to participate in the MCPSS study
and you no longer have your online survey tool access
information or need help accessing the survey tool,
please call the MCPSS Provider Helpline at
1-800-835-7012 or send an email to
MCPSS@scimetrika.com.
CMS urges
you to please take a few moments to complete your survey
today.
|
