The chances of Congress passing legislation to prevent a 27% cut in Medicare payments to doctors beginning January 1, 2012, dropped significantly as of end of day December 20.
While the House of Representatives passed a 2-year SGR patch that delayed payment cuts and provided for a 1% annual increase in payments, that legislation did not garner enough support in the Senate, where a bill extending existing SGR rates for 2 months was passed with overwhelming support. Following the Senate’s action, a significant number of House Republicans expressed strong opposition to the 2-month extension. On December 20th, the House leadership refused to vote to accept the Senate bill and instead requested a conference committee be formed to reach a consensus. While House leaders have suggested that any differences between the two chambers could easily be bridged, the Senate immediately turned down their request to meet.
Since the Senate is already in recess for the Holidays and the House is expected to adjourn in the next 24 hours, it appears highly unlikely that any new measure to update the SGR will be introduced and voted on before January 1, 2012.
The House is scheduled to return to DC on January 17 and the Senate on January 23. Several House staff have requested the House cut its recess short and reconvene as early as January 3, but no definite plan has been announced at this time.
In response to concerns from providers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced that, beginning January 1, 2012, it will hold all 2012 Medicare claims for 10 business days to avoid processing claims at the reduced rates. After January 17th, CMS will begin processing claims in the order they were received at the reduced rates until Congress can resolve the situation.
The AANEM will continue to closely monitor the developments affecting SGR and to provide members with timely updates. If you have any questions, please contact AANEM Policy Department at
policy@aanem.org