Advocacy and News
News To Use— The Maine D.O. Dashboard
| Senate Agrees To Short-Term Medicare Physician Payment Update |
| June, 21, 2010— At the beginning of last week, the Senate continued to consider a $140 billion ”extenders” package, which contained an additional extension of unemployment benefits and a 19-month ”fix” to Medicare physician payments (at a cost of $22.9 billion). On Wednesday the Senate failed to waive a budget point of order against the package (it received only 45 votes, 15 short of the necessary 60 to waive the point of order), with the majority of Senators – Democrats and Republicans – opposing the size and cost of the bill, which would have added an additional $79 billion to the deficit.
As a result, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) modified the package to scale back the cost of the bill and lessen its impact on the budget deficit. The changes included shortening the Medicare physician payment cut delay from 19 to six months, and scaling back the unemployment benefits extension. The modified Medicare physician payment provision would have provided physicians with a 2.2 percent increase, expiring on November 30, 2010, instead of December 31, 2011. At the end of the six months, Medicare payments would have been cut by at least 21% absent further Congressional action. The modified package failed a cloture vote Thursday evening, with only 56 Senators in support of ending debate. All Republicans and two Democrats – Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) – voted against cloture. On Friday, due to the legislative impasse on the extenders package, the Senate passed by unanimous consent a 6 month 2.2% update for Medicare Physician payments that will expire November 30, 2010. The House of Representatives will need to act on this separate bill before it becomes law. In the meantime, CMS has notified physicians that it will begin processing June reimbursement claims under the reduced rate as of today, June 18, 2010. CMS had held claims since June 1 in anticipation of legislative action; however, these claims, along with any new claims submitted, will be paid with the 21% negative update applied. In a memo to House and Senate leaders, the agency stated it will “continue to monitor Congressional actions, and if Congress changes the negative update that is currently in effect, [they] are prepared to act expeditiously to make the appropriate changes to Medicare claims processing systems.” |
