Endocrine Insider
March 19, 2008

In its annual letter to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed that it anticipates physician reimbursement for Medicare services in 2009 to be approximately 15.4 percent less than the current rates. This is in part the result of a decrease in physician payments due to take effect on July 1, 2008.

While physicians are currently being paid on average 0.5 percent higher for Medicare services than they were in 2007, this slight payment increase is scheduled to end on June 30, and a 10.6 percent cut is scheduled to take effect. The only way to stave off this cut is through congressional action. CMS has estimated its 2009 payments to physicians will decrease by approximately 5 percent in addition to and independent of the expected 10.6 percent cut set to take effect in July. Another temporary fix to 2008 payments would therefore positively affect the amount of the proposed 2009 reimbursements, making the overall decrease 5 percent rather than 15.4 percent.

Late last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced Senate Bill 2785, the Save Medicare Act of 2008, in an attempt to stave off the looming payment cuts. S. 2785 would negate the impending cuts, continue the 0.5 percent physician payment increase through the end of 2008, and provide an additional 1.8 percent payment increase in 2009. To date, Congress has spent considerable time debating ways to address the issue of yearly physician payment cuts, and how to eliminate them, with little success. It remains to be seen whether Senator Stabenow’s legislation has enough support to ultimately be successful. Endocrine Society staff will continue to update you on the progress of this legislation, as well as any changes in proposed physician payment through 2008 and 2009.