Signatures are still being sought for the Stop the Medicare Meltdown petition campaign being led by the Texas Medical Association.  The NCMS and other state organizations have joined in the campaign in an effort to get Congress to permanently repeal using the sustainable growth rate (SGR) to determine Medicare physician reimbursement fees. Current plans call for presenting the petition to Congress following its August recess.

Physicians and patients can sign the petition online, and a downloadable flyer is available to encourage patients to participate.

President Obama signed HR 3962 into law last Friday, after the House and Senate agreed to a six-month delay in the proposed cut to Medicare physician fees. The law included a 2.2 percent update in the Medicare fee schedule for physician services through November 2010. Reacting to the latest Congressional delay, AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, said, “In December, the Medicare physician payment cut will be a whopping 23 percent, increasing to nearly 30 percent in January…Congress must replace the broken payment system before the damage is done and cannot be reversed.”

As the law took effect, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued an update on how June Medicare claims would be processed.

The NCMS continues to ask the North Carolina Congressional Delegation to repeal the SGR. Click here to contact your Representative or Senator today.