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Physicians Face Pay Cut; CMS to Delay Processing Claims
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Endocrine Insider Originally scheduled to go into effect on January 1, the impending 21.2 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursement Medicare has been averted until now through multiple short-term legislative fixes (see previous issues of Endocrine Insider). In its most recent attempt to yet again avert the cuts, Congress failed to pass legislation that would have frozen physician reimbursement at the 2009 rates until October 1. While the Senate was able to pass this legislation in early March, the House was unable to complete its work on the bill before the Easter/Passover recess. The House will not resume until the week of April 12, and the 21.2 percent cut to Medicare reimbursement has gone into effect as scheduled today. Physicians will likely not receive any reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that includes these cuts. Instead, the agency has instructed its contractors to hold all claims for 10 business days to allow Congress time to pass the legislation after the recess. The Endocrine Society continues to press Congress for a long-term fix for physician payments through reform of the Sustainable Growth Rate formula. Stay tuned to Endocrine Insider for new developments as they occur. |
