Congress stalls on SGR fix—27.4 percent Medicare cut set for Jan. 1
22 December 2011
Congressional leaders have failed to reach an agreement to avert the 27.4 percent Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula cut to provider payments, set to take effect on Jan. 1. As the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) previously reported, the House of Representatives last week passed a bill that included a two year fix; the Senate passed a two month fix. House Republicans and Senate Democrats have clashed over their differing versions of the payroll tax and unemployment benefit bill, which includes the SGR provisions. At present, neither chamber has expressed a willingness to compromise and reach an agreement that will avoid the severe cuts.
The House has requested that the Senate appoint members to a House-Senate conference committee, which would be charged with working out differences between the two versions of the bill. The Senate leadership has announced that the Senate would not reconvene over the holidays to engage in further negotiations and votes. In addition, members of the House have departed Washington for the holidays, after being informed that they could be called back to Washington on short notice. At this time, it does not appear likely that the outstanding issues will be resolved before Jan. 1.
The House is currently scheduled to return to Washington on Jan. 17, while the Senate is scheduled to return on January 23. However, there are reports that the House, at least, may move up the date of its return to Jan. 3.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has denounced the political brinkmanship that left the SGR issue unresolved until Congress was adjourning, and has reiterated its call for a bipartisan effort to repeal flawed and disruptive formula once and for all. In a statement to the federation of state medical societies, AMA explained, "Throughout the year, the AMA has been pursuing a strategy for repealing the SGR that was developed in consultation with state medical societies and national medical specialty societies. We continued to oppose short-term remedies that serve to make future cuts deeper and the cost of permanent payment reform increasingly steep. And, throughout the year, bicameral and bipartisan support has been expressed in Congress for permanently addressing the Medicare physician payment crisis. Nonetheless, physicians and their patients once again find themselves confronting uncertainty and instability. It is long past time for Congress to act decisively and protect access to care for senior citizens and military families that rely on TRICARE—they and their physicians deserve better."
MSV will provide additional updates on the status of the 2012 payment rates as events unfold.
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