Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Nurs 525 presentation policy brief
Similar to Nurs 525 presentation policy brief (20)
Nurs 525 presentation policy brief
- 1. STATE AND FEDERAL POLICY BRIEF REVIEW Maryland House bill 1204 united states congress house bill 574 Aaron M. Sebach, MS, CRNP-AC/F, RN, CEN, CPEN, WCCM, CDME Salisbury University NURS 525: Healthcare Systems March 26, 2013
- 2. Maryland • Maryland Wage and Hour Law • Maryland General Assembly • House of Representatives Bill 1204 • Senate Bill 683
- 3. maryland • What Is Minimum Wage? • Current Minimum Wage • How Does Maryland Compare? http://floridarestaurantlaw.blogspot.com/2011/06/floridas-new- minimum-wage-june-1-2011.html
- 4. maryland • Current State • Why Change? http://www.chicagohomeless.org/statement-on-president-obamas- support-for-federal-minimum-wage-increase/
- 5. maryland • Policy Recommendations • Regulation
- 6. maryland • Conclusion http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/2010/12/2011-new- minimum-wage-rates/
- 7. FEDERAL • Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2013 • 113TH Congress, 1st Session • House of Representatives Bill 574
- 8. federal • Current Medicare Reimbursement • Sustainable Growth Formula (SGR) Program Failure http://www.bocahomecareservices.com/government/medicare- explained/
- 9. federal • Policy Recommendations • MEDPAC • National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
- 10. federal • Policy Recommendations • Obama Administration • Long-Range Proposals
- 12. references • Hall, D., & Cooper, D. (2013). How raising Maryland’s minimum wage will benefit workers and boost the state’s economy. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org • Hall, D., & Cooper, D. (2013). Rebuilding an economy that works for all of us. Retrieved from http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com • Merlis, M. (2013). Health policy brief: Medicare payments to physicians. Retrieved fromhttp://www.healthaffairs.org
Editor's Notes
- House of Representatives Bill 1204 sponsored by Delegate Braveboy, et al Senate Bill 683 sponsored by Senator Garagiola, et al This legislation will update the current Maryland Wage and Hour Law and provide subsequent annual increases to Maryland’s minimum wage
- Minimum wage is in essence lowest hourly rate for workers. States are free to establish minimum wage rates as they see fit; however, it must not be below the established federal minimum wage. Maryland’s current minimum wage matches the federal minimum wage: $7.25 per hour and approximately $15,000 per year. Service based tipped workers earn $3.63 per hour in addition to any applicable tips. Over the last 40 years, Congress has failed to increase minimum wage rates in accordance with economic inflation. Had this occurred, the current minimum wage would be $10.60 per hour. Currently, 19 states including the District of Columbia have established minimum wage rates according to the cost of living and other financial factors. Ten states provide annual increases to the established minimum wage.
- Post-recession, Maryland’s economy continues to improve while minimum wage rates have remained fixed. This coupled with inactivity among state and federal legislators has resulted in a weakened economy. Modifying Maryland’s minimum wage will positively impact consumers and stakeholders alike. Increasing Maryland’s minimum wage will affect approximately 536,000 workers and stimulate a sustainable economic recovery. Specifically, the creation of 4,280 new full-time jobs will generate $492 million in new consumer spending without the need to increase taxes. Increased consumer spending will result in additional state revenue through sales and income taxes. Failure to increase Maryland’s minimum wage will further promote wage inequality and introduce the potential for increased state taxes.
- As a whole, lawmakers continue to minimize the significance of their actions. Luckily, an important legislation is currently being considered. First, Maryland’s minimum wage will be increased to $8.25 per hour effective July 1, 2013 followed by an additional increase to $9.00 per hour effective July 1, 2014. A subsequent increase to $10.00 per hour will occur July 1, 2015. However, the amount are subject to change pending any federal minimum wage increases. Second, the minimum wage for service-based tipped workers will become $5.78 on July 1, 2013, an increase of 20%. In order to ensure compliance, the bill will create additional enforcement responsibilities of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Additional DLLR responsibilities will ensure compliance with increased minimum wage rates while facilitating the creation of new state funded positions.
- Increasing Maryland’s minimum wage will provide a host of benefits for consumers and stakeholders alike. Higher wages will contribute to a sustainable economic growth secondary to the creation of new jobs and increased consumer spending. The future of Maryland’s economy will forever be affected by the legislative decisions made during this session.
- Title ‘Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2013” House of Representatives Bill 574 Introduced by Delegate Schwartz Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce as well as the Committee on Ways and Means
- Physicians and other healthcare providers are reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services according to a pre-determined fee-for-service model. The fee-for-service model is updated each year to ensure that the total per-capita spending does not outweigh the gross domestic product. Since 2003, Medicare has been utilizing an intricate formula to calculate physician payments known as the Sustainable Growth Formula. The Sustainable Growth Formula was introduced by Congress in 1997 and mandates payment reductions based on the number of services provided as a method of reducing expenditures. However, the SGR has failed to control spending as evidenced by yearly Congressional overrides resulting in frozen or slightly increased Medicare payment rates. This coupled with Congress’s failure to modify SGR targets and formulas has resulted in an overall program failure. In early 2013, President Barack Obama and Congress signed legislation to defer a 26.5% reduction in Medicare payments until January 2014. Long-term program modifications would significantly increase the federal deficit. In February 2013, the Congressional Budget Office calculated that eliminating SGR targets and freezing Medicare physician payment rates for ten years would cost $138 billion. In light of the current budget crisis, legislators are looking to approve a payment reform plan that would have a minimal effect on the federal deficit.
- Currently, there are four proposals to modify and stabilize Medicare payments. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) introduced a ten year $200 billion proposal to repeal the SGR. This proposal will set payment rates for the next 10 years beginning with a 5.9% reduction for three years followed by a freeze in rates for the remaining seven. In addition, MEDPAC will reduce payments for “overvalued” services. Primary care providers will be exempt from payment reductions which could reduce access to care for patients. MEDPAC also provides a list of potential alternative savings plans including reduced payments to skilled nursing facilities and clinical labs. The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform published a proposal in December 2010 to reform Medicare payments. The proposal would cost $261.7 billion over 10 years by freezing payment rates through 2013 and then reduce rates by 1% in 2014. The SGR system would subsequently be reinstated in 2015 using payment rates from 2014 as the base standard. Overall, this proposal would forgive past expenditures while providing the opportunity for future payment penalties as needed.
- The Obama Administration released yet another proposal in 2012 to achieve “permanent, fiscally responsible reform.” However, details of the proposal are limited with a $429 billion price tag from 2013-2022. Long-range proposals has been introduced to promote cost effective healthcare through an integrated delivery system. Such proposals have achieved favorable feedback from Congress supporting modest increased in payment plans for the immediate future while Medicare experiments with innovative payment initiatives.
- Modifying and stabilizing Medicare physician payment plans will provide a host of benefits for consumers and stakeholders alike. Pre-determined payment plans would minimally affect the federal deficit while providing financial planning opportunities for physicians and other healthcare providers. The future of healthcare will forever be affected by the legislative decisions made during this session.