In previous years when Congress has failed to pass payment fixes before the deadline, physicians were temporarily paid at the lower rate and had to recoup the difference later, which is a messy process, according to billing experts.
The money that doctors offices would need to recoup this time would be even greater, because the planned annual cuts are being deferred each year and have now built up to 21 percent.
The House’s newly passed fix, lasting just two months until a year-long fix in the health reform bills can be implemented, was part of the defense appropriations bill, which the Senate must also vote on, but the Senate is not expected to do so before the end of the year.
Physicians groups have called for a permanent fix the physician payment formula, called the sustainable growth rate, which automatically triggers the annual payment cuts. The House passed a permanent fix last month but the Senate failed to do so.
A temporary, year-long fix of the SGR is part of the health reform bills. The House has passed its version of the reform bill but the Senate version is still being debated.
Physicians’ groups have written to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asking for the two-month postponement and the AMA issued a statement urging the Senate to move quickly.
Read MedPage Today’s report on physician pay cuts.
