Bills to Watch in the 113th Congress
With the first session of the 113th Congress well underway, the AAO-HNS Government Affairs team is closely monitoring legislation relating to our legislative priorities. Below is a preliminary list of bills to watch that will potentially affect the specialty, your practice, and your patients. H.R. 351/S. 351, the “Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2013” Introduced by Rep. Phil Roe, MD (R-TN) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), H.R. 351/S. 351 would repeal the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandating the creation of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to recommend Medicare policy and payment changes with limited Congressional oversight. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of H.R. 351/S. 351 and continues to work with others in the physician community to strengthen the bipartisan cosponsor list for this important legislation. H.R. 1427, the “Truth in Health Marketing Act of 2013” Introduced by Rep. Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) and Rep. David Scott (D-GA), H.R. 1427 would require all physician and non-physician healthcare professionals to fully disclose their level of training and applicable credentials in all advertising/marketing materials. The AAO-HNS is a key supporter of H.R. 1427 and actively worked with the bill’s sponsors to ensure the introduction of legislation in the 113th Congress. H.R. 1473, the “Standard of Care Protection Act” Introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), H.R. 1473 provides common-sense protections for physicians by preventing certain Federal healthcare laws from establishing healthcare provider “standards of care” in medical liability cases. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of H.R. 1473 and continues to educate Members of Congress regarding the importance of ensuring critical medical liability protections. H.R. 1201/H.R. 1180/S. 577, the “Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2013” Introduced by multiple members of the U.S. House of Representatives (Schock, Schwartz) and U.S. Senate (Nelson, Schumer, Reid), H.R. 1201, H.R. 1180, and S. 577 would help to ensure a more robust “physician workforce pipeline” by expanding residency slots in identified physician shortage areas. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of legislation that protects and/or expands existing residency slots for specialty physicians. Pending Legislation: ASHA Proposal Soon to be introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the proposal being advanced by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) is intended to better align Medicare coverage of comprehensive audiology services with current billing and reimbursement standards of other non-physician therapeutic services covered by Medicare (PT, OT, SLP). They specifically retain the requirement for a physician referral, as well as physician oversight of the plan of care. The AAO-HNS will take a support position on the bill once introduced. Outlook for the Remainder of 2013 Audiology Scope Expansion Legislation The AAO-HNS anticipates the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) to pursue legislation that ultimately will threaten patient safety and the provision of quality hearing healthcare. AAA is expected to once again seek introduction of legislation to provide audiologists with direct access to Medicare patients without a physician referral, while ADA intends to seek legislation to amend Title XVIII (18) of the Social Security Act to include audiologists in the definition of “physician.” At the time this article was written, no legislation relating to these efforts had been introduced in the U.S. Congress. However, the AAO-HNS will strongly oppose both bills upon their introduction. Repeal of the Flawed SGR Formula Since February, the U.S. House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees have been working to develop a framework for legislation to repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and replace it with a new Medicare physician payment system. The AAO-HNS and others in the physician community continue to work with Members of the Congress and their staff to examine the pros and cons associated with any new payment model. Committee leaders have identified the Congressional August recess as their target date to have legislation considered on the House floor. However, given the complexity of developing a new payment system, consideration of possible legislation may be pushed until September/October. The AAO-HNS is a long-time advocate of SGR repeal efforts and will continue to work with Congress to advance this necessary reform. For more information regarding AAO-HNS federal legislative activity in the 113th Congress, visit www.entnet.org/advocacy or email legfederal@entnet.org.
With the first session of the 113th Congress well underway, the AAO-HNS Government Affairs team is closely monitoring legislation relating to our legislative priorities. Below is a preliminary list of bills to watch that will potentially affect the specialty, your practice, and your patients.
H.R. 351/S. 351, the “Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act of 2013”
Introduced by Rep. Phil Roe, MD (R-TN) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), H.R. 351/S. 351 would repeal the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandating the creation of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to recommend Medicare policy and payment changes with limited Congressional oversight. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of H.R. 351/S. 351 and continues to work with others in the physician community to strengthen the bipartisan cosponsor list for this important legislation.
H.R. 1427, the “Truth in Health Marketing Act of 2013”
Introduced by Rep. Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN) and Rep. David Scott (D-GA), H.R. 1427 would require all physician and non-physician healthcare professionals to fully disclose their level of training and applicable credentials in all advertising/marketing materials. The AAO-HNS is a key supporter of H.R. 1427 and actively worked with the bill’s sponsors to ensure the introduction of legislation in the 113th Congress.
H.R. 1473, the “Standard of Care Protection Act”
Introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), H.R. 1473 provides common-sense protections for physicians by preventing certain Federal healthcare laws from establishing healthcare provider “standards of care” in medical liability cases. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of H.R. 1473 and continues to educate Members of Congress regarding the importance of ensuring critical medical liability protections.
H.R. 1201/H.R. 1180/S. 577, the “Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2013”
Introduced by multiple members of the U.S. House of Representatives (Schock, Schwartz) and U.S. Senate (Nelson, Schumer, Reid), H.R. 1201, H.R. 1180, and S. 577 would help to ensure a more robust “physician workforce pipeline” by expanding residency slots in identified physician shortage areas. The AAO-HNS is a strong supporter of legislation that protects and/or expands existing residency slots for specialty physicians.
Pending Legislation: ASHA Proposal
Soon to be introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the proposal being advanced by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) is intended to better align Medicare coverage of comprehensive audiology services with current billing and reimbursement standards of other non-physician therapeutic services covered by Medicare (PT, OT, SLP). They specifically retain the requirement for a physician referral, as well as physician oversight of the plan of care. The AAO-HNS will take a support position on the bill once introduced.
Outlook for the Remainder of 2013
Audiology Scope Expansion Legislation
The AAO-HNS anticipates the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) to pursue legislation that ultimately will threaten patient safety and the provision of quality hearing healthcare. AAA is expected to once again seek introduction of legislation to provide audiologists with direct access to Medicare patients without a physician referral, while ADA intends to seek legislation to amend Title XVIII (18) of the Social Security Act to include audiologists in the definition of “physician.” At the time this article was written, no legislation relating to these efforts had been introduced in the U.S. Congress. However, the AAO-HNS will strongly oppose both bills upon their introduction.
Repeal of the Flawed SGR Formula
Since February, the U.S. House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees have been working to develop a framework for legislation to repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and replace it with a new Medicare physician payment system. The AAO-HNS and others in the physician community continue to work with Members of the Congress and their staff to examine the pros and cons associated with any new payment model. Committee leaders have identified the Congressional August recess as their target date to have legislation considered on the House floor. However, given the complexity of developing a new payment system, consideration of possible legislation may be pushed until September/October. The AAO-HNS is a long-time advocate of SGR repeal efforts and will continue to work with Congress to advance this necessary reform.
For more information regarding AAO-HNS federal legislative activity in the 113th Congress, visit www.entnet.org/advocacy or email legfederal@entnet.org.