North Carolina Medical Society - NCMS Bulletin

Volume 61 Issue 14 – March 26, 2010

Featured Stories

Health System Reform Signed Into Law, Reconciliation Bill On President’s Desk

Last night the U.S. House of Representatives gave final passage to H.R. 4872, a reconciliation bill that modifies the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama earlier this week. The reconciliation bill will now head to the President’s desk for his signature.

Congress Fails To Prevent April 1 Cut in Medicare Physician Payments

On March 25th, the Senate debated H.R. 4851, a bill that would extend a number of expiring programs through April. The bill had already passed the House and included a 30-day extension of current Medicare physician payment rates. Due to objections on the floor, the bill was not considered, and the 21.3 percent Medicare physician payment cut will now take effect on April 1.

State Contracts with IBM for Medicaid Fraud Audit

Earlier this week, Governor Beverly Perdue announced that the State would partner with IBM to audit North Carolina Medicaid to search for dollars lost due to fraud and abuse. The audit will rely on IBM software to review files and flag suspicious cases.