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Congress Passes Legislation Blocking Medicare Cuts
But Only Through November 2010
- Today (June 25, 2010), President Obama signed into law the “Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010.” This law establishes a 2.2% update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) payment rates retroactive from June 1 through November 30, 2010.
- This was stand-alone legislation because the Senate could not achieve the 60 votes necessary to achieve cloture (blocking a filibuster) to pass more comprehensive House legislation, which would have stopped Medicare cuts for 19 months, extend extra federal Medicaid matching (FMAP) funds to cash-strapped states, extend unemployment insurance, restore some tax breaks, and raise taxes on managers of buyout funds and other investment partnerships, and finally fix the California geographic payment (GPCI) inequity.
- The new Medicare rate applies only through November 2010. If Congress fails to intervene, Medicare cuts mandated by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) will take effect on December 1, 2010.
- In December 2010, the Medicare physician payment cut will be 23%, increasing to nearly 30% in January 2011.
- The precise details of how CMS will retroactively adjust payments made while the 21% cut was in effect will be promulgated as soon as they are known.
Of note, the California delegations in both the House and the Senate were completely in support of a longer SGR fix and a five-year fix to GPCI. This was not a failure to advocate effectively by California's legislators or California's organized medicine.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS!
You may call (800) 833-6354 (AMA's Grassroots Action Center) and be in touch with the senators' offices in under 30 seconds, or you may call, fax, or email (via their websites) with the information below:
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Website Email Click on 'Contact Us' for the form.
Telephone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
- Sen. Barbara Boxer
Website Email Click on 'Contact' for the form.
Telephone: (202) 224-3553
Fax: (202) 224-0454
- Rep. Anna Eshoo
Website Email Click on 'Contact Anna' for form.
Telephone: (202) 225-8104
Fax: (202) 225-8890
- Rep. Sam Farr
Website Email Click on 'Contact Me' for the form.
Telephone: (202) 225-2861
Fax: (202) 225-6791
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