The Senate Finance Committee, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce exercise jurisdiction on Medicare legislation and provide oversight on the Medicare Program.
Two bills have been introduced in the 111th Congress that would improve access to care for Medicare beneficiaries who receive their medical care from physician assistants.
- S. 1157, the Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2009, introduced by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) would allow PAs to order home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility care, as well as to provide hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries.
- S. 318, the Medicare Rural Health Access Improvement Act of 2009, introduced by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), would allow PAs to order skilled nursing facility care and provide hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Background
Medicare coverage was originally extended to physician assistants (PAs) through the 1977 Rural Health Clinic Services Act. Congress acknowledged that PAs had the education and skills needed to provide a wide range of primary care physician services to Medicare beneficiaries living in areas experiencing a shortage of physicians. Congress' aim was to extend medical services to rural Medicare beneficiaries. Subsequent Congresses steadily expanded Medicare coverage for services provided by PAs. In 1997, the 105th Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act (BBA). The BBA made it clear that medical services provided by PAs, as allowed by state law, are covered by Medicare in all settings at one uniform rate.
Unfortunately, the former Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) decided that the BBA's Medicare provisions regarding coverage of services provided by PAs did not apply to home health care, hospice care, or skilled nursing facility care. As a result, PAs are currently not allowed to order home health or hospice care services for patients who are Medicare beneficiaries. PAs are also not allowed to order post-hospital extended care services in skilled nursing facilities or provide hospice care to beneficiaries who elect the hospice benefit. It is unconscionable that Medicare beneficiaries who routinely receive care from a PA and who elect to receive the hospice benefit are not able to receive hospice care provided by their PA.
PAs jump through hoops to obtain physician signatures on Medicare orders for home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility care. The physician, however, is not always available, and access to needed care is delayed. The coverage problems disrupt continuity of care and decrease the availability of care, especially in medically underserved communities. The inability of PAs to provide hospice care disrupts continuity of care at a time when the Medicare patient is most vulnerable.
Recommendation
The American Academy of Physician Assistants recommends that Congress amend the Medicare statute to allow PAs to order home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility care for Medicare beneficiaries, and allowing PAs to provide hospice care to their patients who elect Medicare's hospice benefit. The Academy recommends that the Medicare changes be incorporated into health care reform legislation.
Justification
The 1997 BBA broadly authorizes PAs to deliver physician medical services if allowed by state law and delegated by the supervising physician. The law makes it clear that state law, not federal coverage policies, determines the conditions of PA practice. However, since HCFA determined that the BBA provisions regarding PAs do not apply to certain sections of the Social Security Act, such as certifying the need for skilled nursing facility care and home health services, it is necessary to enact a technical correction to clarify Congress' original intent through the 1997 BBA.
In the absence of the technical correction to counter the coverage decisions, beneficiaries face unnecessary delays and denial of medically necessary care covered by Medicare.
The Lewin Group has estimated a cost savings of implementing the four PA Medicare provisions.
For further information, please contact:
Sandy Harding, Director of Federal Affairs
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Telephone: 703-836-2272, ext. 3205
E-mail:
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Kristin Butterfield, Assistant Director of Federal Affairs
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Telephone: 703-836-2272, ext. 3223
E-mail:
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6/09
