House Postpones 21.2 Percent Cut, Passes 60 Day Freeze
The House of Representatives has postponed the 21.2 percent reduction to Medicare physician payments that was scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The House included an amendment to the 2010 Defense Department appropriations bill, HR. 3326 that freezes Medicare payments at their current levels until Feb. 28, 2010. The bill passed by a vote of 395-34. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Republicans are expected to filibuster it, forcing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev, to obtain 60 votes before the bill can be considered. This procedural hurdle will likely delay consideration of the bill until Friday or Saturday.
In addition to this short term “bridge” mechanism, it is extremely important to send an email and remind your senators to immediately address the Medicare physician payment issue.
The Most Important Bill of 2009 for Anesthesia Providers
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon consider H.R. 3961, the “Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009.” This important legislation would permanently repeal the unworkable Sustainable Growth Rate formula (SGR) and create a path for future positive updates. Without SGR reform this year, anesthesiologists and all other physicians face a 21 in Medicare payment cut beginning Jan. 1, 2010, with additional cuts projected in future years. H.R. 3961 would eliminate such SGR reductions to Medicare physician payments.
Instead, H.R. 3961 would create a new physician payment formula with two buckets that would:
- Allow the volume of most services to grow at the rate of GDP plus 1 percentage point per year
- Allow the volume of primary and preventive care services to grow at GDP plus 2 percent per year
The bill would also remove drugs and laboratory services not paid directly to practitioners from spending targets. The Medicare update for 2010 would be set at MEI. Leadership has indicated that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on H.R. 3961. Now is the time to call and make sure your representatives will vote yes on H.R. 3961.
