MPP not included in fiscal cliff bill, fight continues

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 3, 2013—The bill, the American Taxpayer Relief Act, includes a one-year “doc fix” which means that Congress will again postpone the scheduled cuts in physicians’ Medicare pay that are required by the sustainable growth rate, which was set up many years ago. The doc fix is paid for largely by cuts in Medicare payments to hospitals. The Market Pricing Program (MPP) to replace the current bidding program was not included in the final bill.

As AAHomecare has reported, the bill also includes a provision to apply competitive bidding rates to diabetes test strips purchased at retail pharmacies, which the Congressional Budget Office says would save approximately $600 million in Medicare spending.

After the House vote, President Obama signaled that additional cuts in Medicare spending are on the table. “I agree with Democrats and Republicans that the aging population and the rising cost of healthcare makes Medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit… I believe we’ve got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive.”

In a statement, AAHomecare President Tyler Wilson said: “The 112th Congress finished its lame duck session on Tuesday after a series of intense negotiations and a compromise legislative package that pleased neither Democrats nor Republicans.  In wrapping up business for 2012, the Senate and House failed to include the home care community’s Market Pricing Program (MPP) proposal despite a concerted push over the weekend by the government affairs team at the American Association for Homecare to get the provision inserted in the final legislation. Whether Medicare issues would even be addressed in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations was not apparent until the final stages of the discussion between Congress and the Administration. Throughout the process, AAHomecare lobbied for MPP at every opportunity. The association was not alone in its effort, and there were many in the homecare community who vigorously pushed MPP into late December as a better-built alternative to the current bidding system.

“AAHomecare is concerned that a majority in Congress did not see the need to critically examine competitive bidding and disappointed that the year ended with little change in the existing structure and without enactment of MPP. The association and its members are convinced that 2013 is going to spell trouble for Medicare beneficiaries who rely on home medical equipment and that Round 2 of the bidding program is going to severely undermine the homecare infrastructure.

“Looking forward, the problems that existed in 2012 with competitive bidding system are no less worse today, and the coming Round 2 start in July will only exacerbate the situation. The fight for MPP continues. It represents a better bidding program. Beneficiaries deserve it, homecare providers need it, and the association wants to see it enacted.

As the 113th Congress gets organized over the coming days and AAHomecare examines the new look of the House and Senate and the legislative calendar, it is clear there will be several important opportunities in the first half of this year to get congressional action on MPP. Debate about the debt limit, the sequester cuts, and the budget continuing resolution are all times in the legislative process when Medicare issues will be negotiated and the MPP proposal will be relevant to the discussion.

“The good news is we had a strong ally in Congressman Tom Price, and HR 6490 gathered 87 supporters from both political parties in the few months after it was introduced. All of the educating and grassroots lobbying and contacts made on Capitol Hill in 2012 are not lost. The enthusiasm of the home care community, businesspeople and consumers alike, remains high and focused on getting Congress to understand the need for a better approach to finding market pricing for home medical equipment and related products.

“AAHomecare remains dedicated to getting MPP signed into law. While some of the strategies this year may differ and we will work to enlarge the coalition of companies, consumers and other home care stakeholders involved in the fight, the mission is the same—MPP as a replacement for competitive bidding.” Learn more at www.aahomecare.org.