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• Advocacy Highlights

Advocacy Highlights

Legislation Introduced to End Two-Year Wait Period for SSDI Access to Medicare Coverage
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) have introduced the Ending Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009 (H.R. 1708 and S.700), which would phase down the two-year waiting period that Social Security Disability Insurance recipients currently have to endure in order to become eligible for Medicare coverage. This is an issue that has been highlighted by APA leadership at a recent White House health forum and by member advocates during our 2009 Advocacy Day member visits to Capitol Hill. An estimated 1.5 million people with disabilities, including severe and persistent mental illness, are caught up in this wait period. Up to 40 percent of these individuals do not currently have health coverage. For more information please visit this link.

HIT Stimulus Funding
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included up to $19 billion to accelerate the adoption of health information technology (HIT) by hospitals and practicing physicians. Beginning in 2011 and for the first five years, meaningful users of EHR will be compensated for an amount equal to 75 percent of their allowable Medicare charges. The total amount each year will be capped starting at $18,000 for 2011 or 2012 (early adoption years) and decreasing onwards. The maximum incentive will be $44,000 total. No incentive will be made available after 2016 and physicians for whom the first payment year is after 2014 will receive no incentive. Beginning in 2015, cuts to Medicare reimbursement for nonparticipating physicians will begin. Physicians may opt for a more front loaded Medicaid incentive if their volume in practice is made up of at least 30 percent Medicaid patients. Physicians who practice in a designated health professional shortage area will receive an additional 10 percent incentive.

While many of the qualifications for funding are spelled out in the law, much is left to forthcoming regulations to define who will be eligible for financing. The biggest question remains what exactly is a "meaning user of EHR" which was not defined in statute. DGR will keep you updated through future issues of RushNotes and member alerts as these issues are resolved. For more information please visit this link.


Senate Introduces Juvenile Justice Reauthorization Bill
On March 24, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation to reauthorize expiring programs in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act will authorize key programs designed to protect children and reduce juvenile crime.

The JJDPA also authorizes funding for mental health and drug treatment for juvenile offenders, and encourages states to address the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice system. The legislation supports the efforts of states that attempt to comply with the core requirements of the JJDPA by making funds available through improvement grants to help bring states into compliance with the Act. Competitive grants authorized under the expiring Juvenile Justice Act are administered through the Department of Justice.