I am pleased to inform you that yesterday the House passed legislation to permanently replace the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and prevent the 21.2% cut to Medicare provider payments from taking effect in 2010. The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (H.R. 3961) would provide a 1% update for providers in 2010 followed by regular inflation-based adjustments in future years. With the help of psychologists like you across the country, we were able to mobilize nearly 4,000 messages to members of the House in a very short period of time. Great work! The vote was 243-183. You can see how your Representative voted at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll909.xml.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unveiled the leadership’s comprehensive health care reform legislation, merging together the Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee versions. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains several key Medicare provisions halting the scheduled SGR cut, providing a 0.5% update in 2010 and extending our 5% psychotherapy payment restoration. In order to reduce overall costs, the bill limited the duration of key Medicare provisions to one year, anticipating further action on Medicare again next year. The full House previously approved a two-year restoration extension as part of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) on November 7.

Your advocacy work, combined with direct lobbying by our team in Washington, has enabled the inclusion of the restoration extension in every piece of legislation along the way, in each key committee’s version as well as each chamber’s merged bill. We will continue to work to ensure that the final Medicare provisions sent to the President, regardless of the legislative vehicle, provide the maximum reimbursement relief for practicing psychologists.

Thanks for your continuing efforts.

Jeff Cook
Director, Field and State Operations
APA Practice Organization
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002