Washington Highlights: January 11, 2008

Contents MedPAC Recommends IME Payment Cut The Year Ahead On the Hill Prior Issues January 4, 2008 December 21, 2007 December 14, 2007 December 7, 2007 Archive

MedPAC Recommends IME Payment Cut

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) met Jan. 10-11, and reiterated its recommendation to reduce the Indirect Medical Education (IME) add-on payment by 1 percentage point to 4.5 percent from its current 5.5 percent. While Congress would have to act upon MedPAC's recommendation before the cut is implemented, the recommendation would represent an 18 percent cut in all IME payments to teaching hospitals--$900 million annually. The AAMC continues to oppose any cuts to the current level of IME payments.

MedPAC also recommended that Congress increase payment rates for acute inpatient and outpatient prospective payment systems in fiscal year 2009 by the full hospital market basket index, currently 3.0 percent, along with the implementation of a quality incentive program.

MedPAC recommended updating physician services by the change in input prices (2.6 percent) minus a productivity adjustment (1.5 percent), which results in a 1.1 percent update to physician services for 2009. The update recommendation was coupled with a recommendation to Congress to require "CMS to establish a process for measuring and reporting physician resource use on a confidential basis for a period of two years."

The commission also recommended a freeze in payment rates for skilled nursing facilities, home health care agencies, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

Information:
Atul Grover, Assistant Vice President
AAMC Health Care Affairs/Office of Governmental Relations
agrover@aamc.org
(202) 828-0666

Denise Dodero, Associate Vice President
AAMC Health Care Affairs
ddodero@aamc.org
(202) 828-0493

Mary Patton, Senior Policy Analyst
AAMC Health Care Affairs
mpatton@aamc.org
(202) 862-6297

The Year Ahead

Lawmakers return to Washington this month to begin the second session of the 110th Congress. The House returns Jan. 15, while the Senate convenes a week later on Jan. 22.

The President delivers his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, where he will set the stage for his proposed FY 2009 Federal Budget. For the first time, the White House will release on Feb. 4 what it describes as a paperless copy of the budget document. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jim Nussle estimates that the "E-budget" will save nearly 20 tons of paper and approximately $1 million over the next 5 years, by eliminating a projected order of more than 3,000 hard copies for the media, Capitol Hill, and the White House. Paper copies of the document still will be available for order from the Government Printing Office, and the electronic copies will be posted to the OMB website.

According to a calendar released by Democratic leadership, the House has set its target adjournment date for Sept. 26, though Congress rarely has finished its work that early in the year. The Senate has not set a target.

The summer recess is scheduled to begin Aug. 11 and extend through Sept. 5 to accommodate both parties' national conventions. The Democratic convention will take place in Denver, from Aug. 25 - 28. Republicans hold their convention the following week, Sept. 1 - 4, in Minneapolis. Election day is Nov. 4.

On the Hill

Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) announced Jan. 10 that he will retire at the end of the 110th Congress. Rep. Doolittle, who is under investigation in a lobbying scandal, in April gave up his seat on the House Appropriations Committee.