2009-12-15
Congress plans to include a measure in the Department of Defense
(DOD) spending bill that will prevent the 21 percent Medicare physician fee cut
from taking effect through February 26, 2010. The bridge would block the 21 percent reduction in the
Medicare payment rates for physician services scheduled to begin January, 2010.
The scheduled fee cut is a result of cost-control provisions, known as the
sustainable growth rate (SGR), that was enacted in the Balanced Budget Act of
1997. Congress has acted repeatedly since 2002 to prevent physician payment
cuts by passing short-term “fixes” to the program.
It has not been
confirmed if the fix in the DOD appropriations bill will be a half-percent
increase, tied to the Medicare Economic Index - which would mean a 1.2
percent increase, or a freeze at the current rate, but many expect it to be a freeze
at the 2009 level. The purpose of this bridge is to provide time for lawmakers
to move forward with a longer-term revamp of the physician payment formula as
part of health reform legislation.
At
this time, the Senate health-care reform bill is under debate. On
November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
its version of the legislation to overhaul the nation’s
health-care system. On November 19, House Democrats approved a health reform
bill (HR 3961) that
would block the 21 percent cut in physician payments in 2010 and create a new
update system, but the bill has not made any progress on the Senate side. The DOD
bill is viewed as the final opportunity to move legislative proposals in 2009,
and will include many provisions in addition to the Medicare physician fee fix.
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