October 2009

CMS  has issued the final rule for the 2010 Physician Fee Schedule. Among other items, it implements the 21.5% reduction (pending Congressional intervention of course) and eliminates consult billing while enhancing E&M WRVUs. Link to text below. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=3539&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date

The "Public Option" is just an element of providing greater access to care. In concept, it is a government program similar in concept to Medicare/Medicaid.  Opponents of the process believe there are better alternatives to a new governmental program, such as adding mandatory/enhanced provisions to existing commercial plans, e.g. employer play or pay, individual mandates, financial…

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department published a notice in the Saturday October 24, 2009 PA Bulletin announcing the 2010 MCare assessment to be 21% of the “prevailing primary premium,” which is the Joint Underwriting Association’s (JUA) occurrence rate.

At this point, there are three comprehensive healthcare reform bills passed by key United States Congressional Committees, i.e. the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and a consortium of House committees, referred to as the House Tri-Committee, consisting of the Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and…

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As they do every year, the Internal Revenue Service released the dollar limits that apply to qualified retirement plans. There are three separate charts below that list the limits for 2010. The three charts are separated to identify the limits for: (1) defined contribution plans, (2) defined benefit plans, and (3) both defined contribution and defined…

Urgent: Call your senators and urge support of legislation repealing SGR

The Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of S. 1776, the “Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009,” on Monday afternoon, Oct. 19. This just-introduced legislation eliminates the 21.5 percent cut in Medicare physician reimbursement for 2010 and repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR)…

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Tucker Arensberg’s Healthcare Practice Group includes some of the most experienced health law attorneys in the region. We handle the legal problems so our clients can handle the important work of caring for patients. We work with physicians, physical therapists, dentists, optometrists, and all other professional care givers to help them avoid the many legal traps of running a practice. Tucker Arensberg lawyers have experience in all major health law issues.