The Medicare therapy caps will return on January 1, 2010, although the policy will likely be in place for only one month as both health care reform bills that were passed by the House and Senate contain provisions to extend the exceptions process. These bills are being merged together for a final vote which congressional leaders have said they would like to have completed prior to President Obama's State of the Union address in late January.

Until that time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have reported that speech-language pathology and physical therapy will continue to share a combined cap of $1,860, with a separate cap of $1,860 for occupational therapy. As before, the cap does not extend to services provided in hospitals. Settings impacted by the therapy caps include private practice, rehabilitation agencies, skilled nursing facilities, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, physician offices, and Part B home health agency services.

While ASHA will keep you updated on congressional action, speech-language pathologists in these settings may want to consider notifying your Medicare patients of this situation. Specific information on the caps can be found on ASHA's Web site or on the CMS Web site. For questions or further information, please contact reimbursement@asha.org.