The Latest on Federal Medicare Legislation
H.R. 539, Medicare Modernization for Chiropractic
As you are no doubt aware, the Illinois Chiropractic Society has been supporting federal legislation that would create the Chiropractic Coverage Medicare Modernization Act. Currently, Medicare only provides reimbursement for spinal manipulation. H.R. 539 in the United States House of Representatives and S. 106 in the U.S. Senate, would authorize the federal Medicare program to provide reimbursement for all chiropractic treatments that are within the scope of the practicing chiropractic physician providing the care.
The bills have been assigned to their respective committees, but no action has yet been taken, as supporters are working to add additional co-sponsors to show support for the bills. In the last session, the legislation garnered 180 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The strategy is to increase co-sponsorship to 200 members, thus triggering a committee hearing on the bill. So far this year, there are 108 co-sponsors signed on to the bill, including five from Illinois.
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The ICS has been urging members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to sign onto the bills. You are urged to contact your member of congress and urge him/her to become a co-sponsor of the bill. You can find your member of congress here. To easily send a message to your congressperson, you can use this.
H.R. 4204, Medicare Patient Choice Act
There is also federal legislation in Congress to allow Medicare beneficiaries to choose their physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and chiropractic physicians. The bill, H.R. 4204, is sponsored by Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA). The bill has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee, but no further action has been taken on the legislation.
Currently, chiropractic physicians cannot opt out of Medicare, although MDs/DOs, Dentists, Podiatrists, Optometrists, Physician Assistants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Certified Nurse Midwifes, Clinical Psychologists, Clinical Social Workers, Registered Dietitians, and Nutrition Professionals can formally opt out of Medicare. H.R. 4204 would allow chiropractic physicians to opt out by adding them, along with therapists, pathologists, and audiologists, to this list.
According to the bill sponsors and supporting organizations, physicians and those others who can now opt out of Medicare, may privately contract with Medicare beneficiaries and both deliver services to and directly bill their patients. For some patients, this option is important as they can continue visiting their current health care provider even if that provider is not participating in Medicare.
“One Big, Beautiful Bill”
The “one big, beautiful bill” is a huge, omnibus piece of legislation that encompasses federal tax policy, budgetary issues, and a plethora of national programmatic policies. The bill, now signed into law, does contain changes to both the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Opponents of the legislation made strong claims that the legislation will impair Medicare and Medicaid enrollees by reducing benefit amounts and making some recipients ineligible for benefits. Supporters claim that any reductions in federal aid are because the bill eliminates fraud and abuse in the system. It does add a new proof-of-work component to be eligible for Medicaid (with exemptions for pregnant women or those with medical conditions) and makes certain undocumented immigrants ineligible for Medicaid and Medicare.
Individual states could see fewer federal Medicare/Medicaid-related dollars flow into state coffers from the federal government. The ICS will continue to monitor the impact of the legislation on chiropractic health care in Illinois.
