North Carolina Medical Society - NCMS Bulletin

Volume 63 Issue 7 – February 17, 2012

Featured Stories

Another Short-Term Patch for the Troublesome SGR

Congress voted today to extend payroll tax cuts, unemployment benfits and the current Medicare physician payment through the end of 2012. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature, as members of Congress prepare for a week-long recess to observe the President’s Day holiday.

Senator Burr Co-Sponsors Medicare Reform Proposal

On Thursday, Senator Richard Burr (R, NC) and Senator Tom Coburn, MD, (R, OK) unveiled the Seniors’ Choice Act, a legislative proposal to create a more sustainable Medicare program through immediate and long-term reforms. The Act blends many of the short term Medicare reforms proposed by Senators Coburn and Lieberman (I, CT) with the longer-term reforms based on ideas proposed by Alice Rivlin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and former Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), as well as the bipartisan Medicare Commission, according to a news release from Senator Burr’s office.

HHS To Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the compliance date for ICD-10 implementation. The announcement came two days after Acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner told the American Medical Association’s National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC that CMS would consider extending the implementation timeline.