After months of legislative wrangling and misfires, Congress approved legislation replacing a 21.3 percent cut in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) with a 2.2 percent increase, for services provided from June through November 2010.
On April 15, 2010, President Obama signed legislation temporarily stalling the scheduled 21.3 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates under Part B, for advanced practice registered nurses, physicians, and other Medicare providers. The “Continuing Extension Act of 2010” extends 2009 payment rates through the end of May 2010, under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, and also applies retroactively to April 1.
A new Medicare policy went into effect in 2010, requiring physicians to be physically present in order to reimburse care given to patients in hospital outpatient and observation units. The rule is causing severe hardship for nurses and their patients who need to receive chemotherapy, IV therapy, and other treatments in observation and other hospital outpatient units — particularly in rural areas where patients and physicians must travel long distances.
ANA recently submitted comments urging CMS, Congress, and the Administration to allow APRNs – and all healthcare providers – to qualify for a portion of the billions of dollars in incentives for adopting health information technology/electronic health records systems under the federal Medicare/Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program.
At the January 14-15, 2010 meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, commonly known as MedPAC, commissioners supported a greater focus on non-physician Medicare providers, and recognized the important role of Nurse Practitioners in primary care and home health care.
Medicare policies touch the lives of many of our patients, and reimbursement issues directly or indirectly affect financial compensation for many staff RNs and advanced practice RNs. Many APRNs are enrolled as Medicare providers, and are directly reimbursed for caring for Medicare patients. ANA GOVA staff had the opportunity recently to advocate for nurses and patients at recent meetings of MedPAC, and the RUC and CPT committees.
