Date: December 19, 2007

To: State and Practice Division Federal Advocacy Coordinators
APAGS Coordinators

From: Marilyn Richmond, Assistant Executive Director for Government Relations

American Psychological Association Practice Organization

Cc: Randy Phelps, Interim Executive Director for Professional Practice
State Psychological Association Executive Directors
State Psychological Association Directors of Professional Affairs
CAPP

Re: Congress Passes Temporary Measure to Avert Scheduled Medicare Cuts

Today, Congress passed a 6-month measure to temporarily halt the 10.1% sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut to Medicare reimbursements that was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2008.  Congress has replaced the cut with a positive update of 0.5% through June 30, 2008.  This action comes at the end of the legislative session, in the midst of protracted partisan confrontations over spending and the President’s threat to veto funding Medicare improvements with any cuts in “Medicare Advantage” programs.  For these reasons, Hill leaders opted for a temporary patch and postponed consideration of a broader Medicare package until Congress reconvenes in early 2008.

Preventing the SGR cut from taking effect is an important victory for the APA Practice Organization and other provider groups that have been lobbying hard in the closing hours of this Congress.  We have been fortunate to prevent similar cuts in recent years, but we will face them again in the spring and in future years unless Congress changes the provider reimbursement formula. 

Unfortunately due to the bill’s limited and temporary nature, Congressional leaders did not include additional Medicare improvements, such as the House and Senate provisions to restore reimbursement cuts to psychologists’ and social workers’ services that resulted from the 2007 implementation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 5-year review rule.  However, psychology is well-positioned to fight for these provisions when Congress considers broader Medicare legislation in early 2008. 

As you recall, House and Senate leaders are on our side.  The APA Practice Organization successfully persuaded the House to include language to restore the cut in the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act that passed the chamber in August.  On the Senate side, APAPO has won the support of many members of the Senate Finance Committee, including Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), for Senator Jeff Bingaman’s (D-NM) provision restoring the cut when the Senate returns to Medicare issues in January.

This progress would not have occurred without the hard work and engagement of psychology’s sophisticated grassroots network.  Constituent psychologists generated over 18,000 emails to their elected officials in support of the funding restoration.  Your donations to AAP/PLAN, psychology’s national political action committee, have helped facilitate our getting access to make the case.  We will need your continued support next year to ensure that any comprehensive Medicare package includes restoration of the 5-year review cut.