Medicaid/Medicare
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North Carolina Seeks Signatures in the Medicare Meltdown Petition Drive
All fifty states and more than 12 specialty societies are now taking part in the Medicare Meltdown Petition Drive, led by the Texas Medical Association. The goal is to gather […]
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Physicians: Engage Your Patients and Community to Tackle the “Medicare Meltdown”
The North Carolina Medical Society this week joined with other medical societies throughout the U.S. to campaign for a permanent fix to the Medicare physician payment formula known as the SGR (sustainable growth rate). Physicians and their patients can now get involved in a grassroots effort to gather one million signatures on a petition asking for Congress to take action on the SGR.
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Medicare Physician Payments Cut 21% TODAY
Congress has adjourned for a two-week spring recess without taking action to stop the 21.3% cut to Medicare physician payments. This means that this cut takes effect today, April 1, 2010.
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Medicare Physician Payments to Be Cut 21% on April 1
Congress has adjourned for a two-week spring recess without taking action to stop the 21.3% cut to Medicare physician payments. This means that this cut will take effect this Thursday, […]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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U.S. Senate Passes Health System Reform Reconciliation Bill
Earlier today, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4872, the Health Care Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, a package of fixes to the new health reform law. The reconcilation bill passed the Senate by […]
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NCMS Analysis of Health System Reform Law and Reconciliation Language
The North Carolina Medical Society has evaluated the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama earlier today – as well as the reconciliation bill that modifies this law to be debated by the Senate in the coming days.
The NCMS recognizes the positive measures of this law that expand coverage to more uninsured individuals, eliminate bans on pre-existing conditions and the primary care-based initiatives that would promote prevention and wellness. However, the positive results of these reforms will be overshadowed by disabling actions taken by this bill including:
- A failure to permanently repeal Medicare’s flawed physician payment formula.
- A failure to enact meaningful medical liability reform.
- A failure to allow physicians and patient rights to privately contract without penalties.
- The imposition of penalties for physicians who do not successfully participate in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).
- The creation of a Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
- Ban the establishment of new physician-owned hospitals.
NCMS has addressed these concerns repeatedly throughout the process with the entire Congressional delegation. Staff as well as physician leadership have visited individually with the North Carolina Congressional delegation to ensure that your voice was heard during this debate.
For a copy of the NCMS bill comparison, click here. This document will be updated on our site as the reconciliation process continues. Please feel free to offer questions, comments, or feedback via this blog.
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President Obama Signs Health System Reform Bill
President Barack Obama signed H.R. 3590, the largest overhaul to the nation’s health care system in nearly a half-century into law this morning in a crowded ceremony in the East Room of […]
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