Medicare Teaching Anesthesiology Funding Restoration Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to set forth a special payment rule of 100% of the fee schedule amount for teaching anesthesiologists involved in the training of physician residents, if certain presence and availability requirements are met.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2990 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2990
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to restore financial
stability to Medicare anesthesiology teaching programs for resident
physicians.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 23, 2006
Mr. Vitter (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Coburn, Mr.
Domenici, Mr. Talent, Mr. Burr, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. Dole, and Mr. Kyl)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to restore financial
stability to Medicare anesthesiology teaching programs for resident
physicians.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Teaching Anesthesiology
Funding Restoration Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The current Medicare payment policy for Medicare
beneficiary services furnished by academic anesthesiology
programs administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) is unfair and underpays such programs by 50
percent. In its 1991 rule change, CMS singled out academic
anesthesiology programs alone for a reduction in payment when
teaching anesthesiologists supervise residents in two
concurrent cases. This policy change was unique to
anesthesiology and does not affect other medical specialties or
non-physician providers.
(2) The current Medicare payment policy administered by CMS
for academic anesthesiology programs is causing significant
harm to academic anesthesiology programs nationwide by
contributing to an overall decline in the number of such
programs. Before the current policy went into effect in 1994,
there were 162 academic anesthesiology programs nationwide.
Today, 130 academic anesthesiology programs exist. As such
programs close, medical students will face diminished
opportunities to enter the specialty of anesthesiology and
patients in the United States will see increased shortages in
anesthesiology medical care in the operating room and pain
clinics and through critical care medicine.
(3) The current Medicare payment policy administered by CMS
for academic anesthesiology programs is shortchanging academic
anesthesiology programs an average of $400,000 annually, with
some programs losing in excess of $1 million. As such Medicare
payment decreases continue, academic anesthesiology programs
are experiencing increasing difficulty filling faculty
appointments and sustaining research and development of new
advances in anesthesiology medical care that have previously
contributed to its outstanding patient safety record.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to restore the Medicare payment policy
for academic anesthesiology programs to the policy administered by the
Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services before 1994 in order to--
(1) ensure the financial stability of academic
anesthesiology programs in order to provide sufficient
opportunities for physician residents to pursue the specialty
of anesthesiology, so that patients continue to have access to
quality medical care in the operating room and pain clinics and
through critical care medicine; and
(2) enable the specialty of anesthesiology to continue
making advances in patient safety through research based in
academic programs.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL PAYMENT RULE FOR TEACHING ANESTHESIOLOGISTS.
Section 1848(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(a))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ``except as provided
in paragraph (5),'' after ``anesthesia cases,''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Special rule for teaching
anesthesiologists.--With respect to physicians'
services furnished on or after January 1, 2007, in the
case of teaching anesthesiologists involved in the
training of physician residents in a single anesthesia
case or two concurrent anesthesia cases, the fee
schedule amount to be applied shall be 100 percent of
the fee schedule amount otherwise applicable under this
section if the anesthesia services were personally
performed by the teaching anesthesiologist alone and
paragraph (4) shall not apply if--
``(A) the teaching anesthesiologist is
present during all critical or key portions of
the anesthesia service or procedure involved;
and
``(B) the teaching anesthesiologist (or
another anesthesiologist with whom the teaching
anesthesiologist has entered into an
arrangement) is immediately available to
furnish anesthesia services during the entire
procedure.''.
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Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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