X Action Required
APA Practice Organization Action Alert
Date: December 18, 2009
To: SPTA and Division Federal Advocacy Coordinators
APAGS Coordinators
From: Marilyn Richmond, J.D., Assistant Executive Director for Government Relations
American Psychological Association Practice Organization
Cc: Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., Executive Director for Professional Practice
SPTA Executive Directors
SPTA Directors of Professional Affairs
CAPP
Re: Congress Temporarily Postpones SGR Cut
This week the House voted to postpone for two months the scheduled 21.2% Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cut to Medicare provider payments
as the debate on health care reform continued to occupy the focus of Congress. The postponement was included in the "must-pass" defense
appropriations bill (H.R. 3326), which the Senate is expected to pass in the next few days and the President is expected to sign. The SGR
cut will be blocked until February 28, and Congress will have to address this Medicare issue by that deadline.
As you may recall, the House previously passed legislation (H.R. 3961) in November to permanently replace the SGR formula and provide a
1% update for 2010, but the bill has stalled in the Senate due to budgetary concerns. The Senate health care reform bill currently includes
a provision to prevent the SGR cut for one year and provide a 0.5% update for 2010.
Other Medicare issues, including our 5% psychotherapy payment restoration, remain a key part of the health care reform bills currently under
consideration. Following the implementation of across-the-board cuts resulting from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
five-year review, the APA Practice Organization successfully persuaded Congress in 2008 to restore payments for psychotherapy, the only codes
that received relief. In 2009, APAPO secured language extending the restoration provision in the Senate and House health care reform bills,
as well as all health care reform bills considered by committees of jurisdiction.
Because it is part of health care reform, this critical provision is unlikely to be enacted by January 1. However, Finance Committee staff
has indicated that they will seek to apply the restoration to all Medicare payments in 2010.
We need to keep the pressure on Congress to ensure our provision is extended, and retroactively if necessary. Your Senators and Representative
need to hear from you TODAY that they should pass the restoration extension as soon as possible.
Action:
Click here to urge your Senators and Representative to quickly pass the psychology payment restoration extension:
<http://capwiz.com/apapractice/issues/alert/?alertid=14479701>
If you are not able to reach the Legislative Action Center from the above link, please visit
<http://capwiz.com/apapractice/issues/alert/?alertid=14479701> .
Grassroots feedback is also extremely important to our advocacy efforts, so we would very much appreciate it if you would
e-mail (jcook@apa.org) or fax (202-336-5797) us any responses you receive from your Representative.
Sample Letter:
I am writing as a psychologist and constituent to share my deep concern that Congress has not yet taken action on several key Medicare priorities.
While I am grateful that the Sustainable Growth Rate cut has been prevented for two months, Congress must move quickly to stop the cut from endangering
Medicare patients' access to quality mental health care and should pass a permanent solution that fairly reimburses psychologists and other providers.
Moreover, Congress must extend the 5% psychotherapy payment restoration, which was enacted as part of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and
Providers Act to protect Medicare mental health services that were previously cut by CMS's five-year review. An extension of this critical provision
was passed by the House (Sec. 1309 of H.R. 3962 and is included in Senator Reid's bill (Sec. 3107). My practice is already facing significantly lower
reimbursement in 2010 due to CMS's recent practice expense adjustments, and I simply cannot afford to provide services for less.
Please enact the MIPPA restoration extension as soon as possible and make sure it applies retroactively. This is critically important to my
practice and the patients I serve. Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Dr. M. Arnold, PhD, RN
Licensed Psychologist - Registered Nurse
Psychological Services, Behavioral Health Counseling, Consultation and Education
Focused on the Needs of Older Adults
Western Suffolk/Eastern Nassau Counties, LI, NY
Long Term Care Settings
(631) 271-9863
"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err."
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
"It is better to know the patient who has the disease than it is to know the disease which the patient has." Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC)
