House passes 19-month SGR relief

The House passed an amended version of the “American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010,” which includes a provision to suspend Medicare physician payment cuts produced by the SGR formula for 19 months. The Act will prevent the 21% cut originally scheduled for 2010, with the House proposing a 2.2% payment update for the remainder of this year, and a 1% update for 2011. Under the House’s proposal the SGR challenges will resume in 2012, with an estimated 33% payment cut for that year. The Senate will not resume until June 7 to consider the legislation.

Congress needs to hear from you! Contact your representative and senators today using the AMA’s toll-free grassroots hotline at (800) 833-6354 or send them an email. A long-term solution to the SGR is needed today!

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has notified physicians it will delay processing claims for two weeks. CMS told its contractors to hold claims for Medicare reimbursement for 10 business days “to avoid disruption in the delivery of health care services to beneficiaries and payment of claims for physicians.”