Medical Billing Deficit Reduction Act Finally Passed

Medical Billing Deficit Reduction Act Finally Passed

After weeks of discussion, the medical billing Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has finally passed through the House of Representatives. February 01, 2006 was a day of victory for the act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services are already taking action on the therapy cap exceptions process. Keep your medical billing year open for new changes to come along.

By a narrow vote, the Deficit Reduction Act flew through the House of Representatives with a 216 to 214 vote. One of the major issues in this legislation deals with a new process for therapy cap exceptions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services have already begun to work on these medical billing exceptions.

There will be several options for patients who exceed the therapy caps. First, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services will research if beneficiaries can benefit from therapy cap exceptions with certain medical conditions. This means certain patients would not have a medical billing limit for therapy .

The second option deals with patients that have conditions that normally would not need the additional attention but for these particular people they do. For example, an elderly woman who is constantly sick and breaks a leg may need more attention than a 65 year old that simply breaks a leg with no other conditions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services will decide if additional medical billing reimbursement will be given for therapy in this situation

Not only will therapy caps be affected by the Deficit Reduction Act, but physician payments will be as well. There now is a medical billing payment freeze for physician services. Although payment freeze is not a positive phrase, it is better than a payment cut. Medical billing reimbursement may be the area in which the government saves money this year.

View all Articles by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P