President Signs Stopgap Bill to Delay Medicare Physician Payment Cut
President Obama signed into law legislation that provides a stopgap, 31-day delay of the 21.2 percent Medicare physician pay cut that was scheduled to take effect on March 1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services subsequently advised providers that claims with dates of service March 1 and later, which were being held by Medicare contractors, will be released for processing and payment.
Senate May Delaying 21.2% Physician Payment Cut
Senators are discussing delaying the pending 21.2 percent cut to Medicare physician payments for an additional 15 or 30 days. The extension of the current freeze would likely be included in an “extenders” bill, which would address COBRA, unemployment insurance, the Patriot Act, and highway funding provisions which are also scheduled to expire on Feb. 28. Consideration of this legislation may take place as early as today.
