The US Senate did not follow the House of Representatives and pass HB 2 last night leaving the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula in place, at least for the moment. According to U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Congress will likely take up the issue when they return from their spring recess on April 13. The current “patch” to forestall the scheduled 21 percent reduction in physician Medicare reimbursement is set to expire on April 1. Sources tell the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold paper Medicare claims for four weeks and electronic claims for 14 days until Congress either passes HB 2, which would repeal the SGR, or puts another “patch” in place to keep the reductions from taking effect.
Watch your email and the NCMS website for updates.
at 11:51 am
The possibility of Repeal of SGR not happening, very likey will decimate this industry that my daughter has spent 15 years of Undergrad, Grad School, Internship , Postdoc and $200,000.
With the current shortage of doctors, and this trend to continue, who will take care of us in our time of need. All of us are getting older. Where will the doctors be when we need them? Outsourced, I hope not.