CMS may delay physician payment cut

A 10.6% Medicare physician payment cut took effect today, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services might delay the processing of Medicare claims for 10 days to avoid reimbursing physicians at the reduced rate.

Nancey McCann, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery director of government relations, expressed the organization's desire for Congress to take action to prevent the cut after the July 4 recess.

"When they come back, it should be the first order of business, and they need to get it done," Ms. McCann told Ocular Surgery News. "They need to get something together that they can pass that can be signed into law by the president."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to again bring a bill up for vote after the recess, according to an ASCRS legislative update. The legislation, HR 6331, passed the House last week but later failed to pass in the Senate. President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation if it passes the Senate. A bill requires 60 votes to pass in the Senate; 67 votes are required to override a presidential veto.

"The most important issue for us is the endgame and how quickly we can prevent that cut," Ms. McCann said. "Congress can come back and figure it out and do something that would retroactively go back to July 1."

Congress passed legislation that forestalled a planned Medicare physician payment retroactively in early 2006, Ms. McCann said.