Senate Repeals SGR in Landslide Vote

Well, folks, the fix is in—the fix for the sustainable growth rate (SGR), that is. In a 92 to 8 vote, the Senate approved the SGR repeal bill, called HR2. In addition to an SGR repeal, the bill also officially extends the therapy cap exceptions process until December 31, 2017. This result is better than no therapy cap exceptions process at all; however, it’s disappointing to know that we came so close to achieving a full repeal of the therapy cap. Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Vitter (R-LA) had proposed an amendment to HR2 that would’ve permanently eliminated the cap. Unfortunately, the Senate voted 58 to 42 on that proposal—just two votes short of the 60 necessary for passage—and HR2 passed as-is. The bill now heads to the President’s desk to await his signature.

Stay tuned to our blog. We expect CMS to release more information in the coming hours and days regarding updates to the payment structure and Medicare’s plan to process held claims. And we’ll share everything here.