View Header

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release November 18, 1999
           BALANCED BUDGET REFINEMENT ACT OF 1999: HIGHLIGHTS
                           November 18, 1999

The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999 addresses flawed policy and excessive payment reductions resulting from the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997. The President, Vice President and Secretary Shalala are pleased that Medicare beneficiaries' access to high-quality health care is improved through this bipartisan legislation. All parties to the agreement, in particular, Mr. Archer, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Stark, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Brown, Senator Roth, and Senator Moynihan, played critical roles in achieving this outcome.

This BBRA addresses many of the problems raised by the Administration and Congress, by, for example, placing a moratorium on the therapy caps that have proven harmful to beneficiaries; increasing payments for very sick patients in nursing homes this year; restoring funding to teaching hospitals; and easing the transition to the new prospective payment system for hospital outpatients, among others. Unfortunately, it includes provisions that are not justifiable, such as a $4.8 billion payment increase to managed care plans that are already overpaid according to most experts. This is troubling because any excess payments from the Medicare trust fund put the program at greater risk. This legislative package costs about $1.2 billion in 2000 and $16 billion over 5 years. All estimates from CBO preliminary score, 11/18/99. The total cost also includes changes in premium revenue. The major provisions (not all provisions) are described below, along with their 5-year costs.

HOSPITALS ($6.8 billion)

Modifies outpatient department policies. The BBA created a new prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient care that pays set amounts for services that are similar clinically and in their use of resources. This bill adjusts the PPS. It:

Smoothes the transition to the PPS. During the first 3 and a half years of the PPS, this bill creates payment floors to minimize the disruption of the new system. Small rural hospitals would be held harmless for 4 years while cancer hospitals are permanently held harmless from the PPS. In addition, there will be a budget-neutral 3-year pass-through for certain drugs, devices and biologicals and outlier policy for high-cost cases. The bill also extends the current hospital outpatient capital policy through the implementation of PPS.

Clarification of budget-neutral implementation of PPS. This bill clarifies Congress's intent that the new system is not supposed to impose an additional reduction of 5.7 percent on top of the removal of formula-driven overpayment. (Note: OMB would not score this clarification)

Increases Indirect Medical Education Payments. Under the BBA, teaching hospitals' indirect medical education (IME) payment add-on was reduced to 6.0 percent in 2000, and 5.5 percent in 2001 and subsequent years. This proposal would raise the add-on to 6.5 percent in FY 2000, 6.25 percent in 2001, and 5.5 percent in 2002 and thereafter. This provides critical assistance to teaching hospitals adjusting to the changes in the health care system.

Takes Steps Towards Reforming Direct Medical Education. This bill begins to reduce the geographic disparity in payments for direct medical education. It raises the minimum payment for hospitals to 70 percent of the national, geographically adjusted average payment and limits growth in payments for hospitals with costs above 140 percent of the geographically adjusted average payment. For these hospitals, payments per resident will be frozen for FY 2001 and 2002 and increased at a rate of inflation (consumer price index) minus 2 percentage points for FY 2003 through 2005.

Increases disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. The BBA reduced DSH payments by 3 percent in 2000, 4 percent in 2001, and 5 percent in 2002. This proposal increases the payment rates set in the BBA. Under this bill, DSH would be reduced by 3 percent in 2001 and 4 percent in 2002. This restoration helps these hospitals care for the uninsured.

Increases payments for PPS-exempt hospitals. The BBA authorized the creation of a PPS system for inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. This bill makes adjustments to this PPS and requires the development of PPS systems for long-term care and psychiatric hospitals. It also includes a wage adjustment of the percentile cap for existing PPS-exempt hospitals and enhanced payments for long-term care and psychiatric hospitals.

Improves rural hospital programs. This bill modifies and improves a series of Medicare policies that support rural health care providers. They complement the special protection for rural hospitals in the outpatient PPS system.

Allows certain hospitals to reclassify to rural for purposes of designation as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), Sole Community Hospital or Rural Referral Center. Updates certain standards applied for geographic reclassification.

Extends Medicare dependent hospital (MDH) program for five years; improves the CAH program.

Provides exceptions to residency caps for rural graduate medical education.

Rebases the targets for Sole Community Hospitals and provides for the full market basket increase in 2001.

Administrative actions. This complements the Administration's actions to delay the expansion of the hospital transfer policy; stop recoupment of DSH payments based on unclear guidance; delay implementation of the volume control system and refine the ambulatory payment classification system under the outpatient PPS; change to the wage threshold to allow rural hospitals to reclassify for payment purposes; and others.

SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES & THERAPY SERVICES ($2.7 billion)

Provides immediate increases in payment for high-cost cases. The BBA created a new prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities that was implemented on July 1, 1998. Under this system, payments are based on service needs of patients adjusted for area wages. Effective April through October 1, 2000, 20 percent will be added to 12 resource utilization groups (RUGs) for medically complex cases and 3 rehabilitation RUGs. The bill also creates special payments to facilities that treat a high proportion of AIDS patients for 2000-2001 and excludes certain services (certain ambulance services, prostheses, chemotherapy) from consolidated billing and the PPS system.

Increases payment rates. This bill increases payments across-the-board by 4 percent for 2001 and 2002. It also gives nursing homes the option to elect to be paid at the full Federal rate for SNF PPS.

Imposes two-year moratorium on payment caps. The BBA limited yearly payments for physical / speech therapy and occupational therapy to $1,500 each per beneficiary. This limit is too low, causing a large number of therapy users to have payments exceed the caps and have to pay for services out-of-pocket. This bill puts a two-year moratorium on the caps, steps up medical review to prevent fraud, and revises a BBA-mandated study to develop an alternative, more rational system for therapy services payment.

Administrative actions. Apart from this bill, the Administration will increase payment for high acuity patients and exclude certain types of services furnished in hospital outpatient departments from SNF PPS.

HOME HEALTH ($1.3 billion)

Delays 15 percent to one year after the implementation of the home health prospective payment system (PPS). In addition to creating a new PPS for home health, the BBA also required a 15 percent reduction in payment limits. This bill delays implementation of the 15 percent reduction until after the first year of implementation of PPS.

Provides immediate adjustments. The bill raises the per beneficiary limit by 2 percent for agencies subject to the per beneficiary limit with limits below the national average in 2000; pays $10 per beneficiary in 2000 to agencies to help cover the cost associated with OASIS data collection and reporting requirements; eases and clarifies the surety bond provision; and excludes durable medical equipment from home health consolidated billing. Administrative actions. This bill complements the Administration's actions to delay tracking and pro-rating payments; provide for extended interim payment system repayment schedules; postpone and change surety bond requirements; among others.

BENEFICIARY IMPROVEMENTS ($0.3 billion)

Limits beneficiary hospital outpatient coinsurance. The BBA included a provision to reduce the Medicare beneficiary coinsurance for hospital outpatient department services from its current approximately 50 percent of costs to 20 percent over a number of years. This policy would provide an additional protection by limiting the amount of coinsurance that a beneficiary pays for outpatient care to the Part A deductible ($776 in 2000).

Increases coverage of immunosuppressive drugs. Currently, Medicare pays for the prescription drugs that help prevent rejection of transplants for 36 months. This proposal would, for the next 5 years, extend coverage of these drugs for another 8 months for beneficiaries whose coverage would otherwise expire.

MANAGED CARE ($4.8 billion)

Alters the plan for risk adjustment for managed care plans. The BBA requires that payments to managed care plans be risk adjusted, to prevent adverse selection and to encourage plans to enroll sicker beneficiaries. Rather than implement this immediately, the Administration developed a 5-year phase-in plan which is supported by virtually all independent experts. This proposal alters the phase-in by reducing the amount of risk adjustment scheduled for 2001 and 2002.

Increases rates. Although the General Accounting Office and other independent experts believe that managed care plans continue to be overpaid -- even after the BBA -- this proposal raises the annual rate increase for 2002 from the fee-for-service growth rate minus 0.5 to the fee-for-service growth rate minus 0.3. It also provides an entry bonus for plans entering counties not previously served and for plans that had previously announced that they were withdrawing from counties.

Changes provider participation rules and quality standards. The bill includes a number of provisions to accommodate health plans, including: giving plans more time to submit adjusted community rates; providing greater flexibility in benefits and reducing the user fees paid for the Medicare education campaign; reducing quality standards for preferred provider organizations; and expanding deeming provisions.

Changes demonstrations. This bill delays the competitive pricing demonstration project and extends the social health maintenance organization demonstration and several others.

Interaction with fee-for-service policies. Medicare+Choice rates are linked to growth in fee-for-service spending. Since the policies in the bill increase fee-for-service spending, they increase managed care payments.

Administrative actions. The Administration has and will continue to take administrative actions to improve beneficiary protections and access to information, ease provider participation rules and extend the frail elderly demonstration.

Other providers ($0.8 billion)

Fixes the fluctuation in physician payments (sustainable growth rate). This change stabilizes physician payments and is budget-neutral over 5 years.

Increases payments for Pap smears. Sets the minimum payment rate at $14.60 beginning in 2000.

Increases payments for renal dialysis. Medicare's payments for dialysis have not increased since 1991. Consistent with a recommendation from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, this bill increases the composite payment rate by 1.2 percent in 2000 and another 1.2 percent in 2001.

Increases updates for hospice, durable medical equipment, and oxygen. Payment rate increases to hospices would be temporarily increased by 0.5 for 2001 and 0.75 for 2002 and DME and oxygen suppliers by 0.3 for 2001 and 0.6 for 2002.

Delays authority to adopt competitive purchasing practice. The bill delays the Secretary's inherent reasonableness authority until a GAO report is issued and she issues a final rule.

Provides hospital / area-specific adjustments. The bill includes several changes to local demonstration, hospital designations, etc.

Medicaid & Children's Health Insurance Program ($0.8 billion)

Extends the phase-out of cost-based reimbursement for community health centers. The BBA phased out the Medicaid requirement to pay federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics based on cost. The 2000 phase-out -- where payments are based on 95 percent of costs -- would be extended for 2001 and 2002 under this bill. In 2003, payments are based on 90 percent and in 2004 on 85 percent of costs. A study would determine how these clinics should be paid in subsequent years.

Extends the availability of the $500 million fund for children's health outreach. The welfare reform law put aside a $500 million fund for states to use for the costs of simplifying their eligibility systems and conducting outreach. To date, only about 10 percent of this fund has been spent, and for nearly 30 states, the funding sunsets this year. This bill eliminates the sunset and extends the availability of this fund until it is expended.

Changes Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments and rules. The BBA included a number of significant changes in the Medicaid DSH program, changing states' allotments. The base year data used to set the DSH allotments in the BBA were flawed for some states. This bill adjusts the allotments for DC, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wyoming. It also makes the DSH transition rule permanent and does not allow states to use enhanced Federal matching payments under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for DSH.

Stabilizes SCHIP allocation formula; adjusts allotment for territories. Under the BBA, states receive an allotment of the total Federal funding based on their proportion of low-income uninsured children. This formula would result in large, annual fluctuations in state allotments. This bill alters the formula, and puts floors and ceilings on the allotment changes to make funding for states more predictable. It also increases the available funding for territories.

Improves data collection and evaluation of SCHIP. One of the centerpieces of the BBA was the creation of this new program to provide health insurance to children in families with incomes too high for Medicaid but too low to afford private insurance. However, the BBA did not provide funding for monitoring and evaluating the implementation and outcomes of SCHIP. This bill adds funding for data collection and evaluation of this program.

# # #