Medicare cut scheduled for March 1 – Temporary patch in the works

24 February 2010

The American Medical Association (AMA) and national media outlets are reporting that Congress is expected to pass another short-term extension of the 2009 Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) conversion factor before this weekend. If passed, this extension would avert a 21.2 percent cut to physician payments, originally scheduled to occur Jan. 1, for another 30 days. A similar short-term extension was passed in late December and, barring Congressional action, will expire on Mar. 1.

Should the extension pass, it is anticipated that physicians will not experience an interruption in claims processing.

Earlier this week, the AMA sent a letter to all senators and representatives stressing the urgency of repealing the SGR formula. The letter also expresses the AMA’s opposition to further short-term fixes that make future cuts steeper and the budgetary impact of permanent reform more expensive. MSV and a number of medical associations sent a similar letter (link to PDF) to Virginia’s senators earlier this month.

Physicians have until Mar. 17 to change their Medicare participation or non-participation status in 2010. The AMA has prepared the guide Medicare Participation Options for Physicians to help physicians make this decision.