United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-11-10 monographic deposited born digital 39 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-59 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59 P0b002ee18037c6d5 f:d0659 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59 GAO-06-59 Erroneous payments Health care cost control Health care costs Medicare Patient care services Reporting requirements Therapy Beneficiaries Outpatient care Other Written Product A41277 For years, Congress has wrestled with rising Medicare costs and improper payments for outpatient therapy services--physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology. In 1997 Congress established per-person spending limits, or "therapy caps," for nonhospital outpatient therapy but, responding to concerns that some beneficiaries need extensive services, has since placed temporary moratoriums on the caps. The current moratorium is set to expire at the end of 2005. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 required GAO to report on whether available information justifies waiving the caps for particular conditions or diseases. As agreed with the committees of jurisdiction, GAO also assessed the status of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) efforts to develop a needs-based payment policy and whether circumstances leading to the caps have changed. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59.pdf GAO-06-59 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-59 Other Written Product GAO-06-59; Medicare: Little Progress Made in Targeting Outpatient Therapy Payments to Beneficiaries' Needs; Erroneous payments Health care cost control Health care costs Medicare Patient care services Reporting requirements Therapy Beneficiaries Outpatient care Volume 111 Page 251 111 Stat. 251 Volume 113 Page 1501A-321 113 Stat. 1501A-321 Volume 114 Page 2763A-463 114 Stat. 2763A-463 Volume 117 Page 2066 117 Stat. 2066 Public Law 105-33 Public Law 106-113