Congress passes bill to stall Medicare physician payment cut until May 31

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted Thursday to approve a bill that extends unemployment benefits and delays a planned 21.2% cut in Medicare physician payments until May 31. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law before midnight Thursday.

The payment cut took effect April 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asked its carriers to hold physician payment claims for 10 business days, or 14 calendar days, to give Congress time to delay the payment cut.

The cut stems from the sustainable growth rate (SGR), a key factor in annual Medicare physician payment updates. Congress has passed several "fixes" to stall payment cuts in recent months.

The bill restores Medicare payments retroactively to March 31 levels and extends full payment rates through May 31, according to a statement from the American Medical Association.

"In the meantime, the AMA continues to work closely with House and Senate leadership offices and White House officials on a long-term SGR solution that will be considered in Congress by early June," the statement said. "We will have more to report on this effort in the next few weeks."

In the event that some physician payment claims were processed at rates reflecting the payment cut, the AMA has been assured that CMS will reprocess claims filed April 1 to 14, and that payments will be adjusted to pre-cut levels, the AMA said.

The AMA, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Cardiology and other medical advocacy groups have called for substantial changes to the SGR or its elimination.

"This continued disruption in Medicare physician payment and our members' cash flow highlights the urgency of a permanent Medicare SGR fix," Catherine Cohen, AAO vice president for governmental affairs, said. "The Academy does not support these temporary fixes as they only add to the cost of a permanent solution and increases the size of cuts doctors face in the future."

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