By a vote of 69-30 the Senate passed Medicare relief legislation H.R. 6331, which will avert a 10.6% payment cut and extend the therapy cap exceptions process through the end of December 2009. The bill also includes language that will recognize private practice speech-language pathologists' ability to bill Medicare and will allow audiologists to participate in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. H.R. 6331 passed the House of Representatives with an over-whelming bipartisan majority.
Although the White House has issued a veto threat, it is unclear at this point, whether President Bush will sign the bill into law or reject the legislation. ASHA anticipates that the bill will become law, because the legislation passed both the House and the Senate with veto proof margins.
We appreciate the hard work and grassroots support of the membership. Over 7,500 e-mails and letters were sent by ASHA members over the last two weeks on this important legislation! ASHA will now begin working on the regulations to implement SLP private practice as well as develop measures that audiologists can use in reporting quality measures.
For questions or further information, please contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org or by phone at 202-624-5951.
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