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Congress passes legislation that would delay physician payment cuts

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The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have passed legislation that would prevent the more than 10% reduction in physician reimbursements scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, according to a press release from the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

On Dec. 18, the Senate unanimously passed S. 2499, which is known as the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) Extension Act of 2007. The House of Representatives followed suit and passed the bill on Dec. 19 under suspension of the rules. President Bush is expected to sign the bill before the end of the year, the release said.

If signed by the president, the legislation will prevent the compulsory 10.1% reduction in physician payments from taking effect and replace it with a 0.5% positive update through June 30.

The bill also includes provisions that would extend the expiring rural physician payment provisions and the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, which would remain voluntary with bonus payments through 2008, the release said. In addition, SCHIP funding would be extended through March 2009.

However, the act would only temporarily delay the decrease in Medicare reimbursements. Without further intervention by Congress, physicians will face a 10.6% reduction in payments on July 1, according to the release.

ASCRS and other physician groups have been petitioning Congress throughout 2007 to overturn the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and enact at least 2 years of a positive, fully funded update. Earlier this year, the House passed the CHAMP Act (Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act), which included these provisions. However, the bill failed to obtain sufficient votes to be approved in the Senate.

ASCRS anticipates a larger Medicare bill in 2008 that will be considered under "budget reconciliation" rules, which means that only 51 votes would be required for the Senate to pass the bill.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have expressed support for "at least a 2-year 'fix' next year," the release said.