Medicare Information

The links below take you to information about the Sustained Growth Rate (SGR), GPCI and Locality 99 issues concerning Medicare reimbursement (or lack thereof) that affect all physicians in Santa Cruz county.

Public Information

Add your name to a petition to Congress for a permanent end to physician underpayment for Medicare. Be sure to forward it to friends and family to sign as well.

How does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 affect patients? Read the patient information sheet.

Contact your Senators today!! Download the 1 page AMA information flier for a toll free number to call.

Medicare Inequity Explained - SCCMS President Christopher O'Grady clearly and concisely explains the Medicare problems Santa Cruz County faces.

HICAP - the local resource for all things Medicare!

2008 Acumen Report - a report on the GPCI inequalities for reimbursement.  It also presents 4 options for fixing the problem.

Information for medical practices

New health insurance reform law changes GPCI rates.

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.

Add your name to a petition to Congress for a permanent end to physician underpayment for Medicare. Be sure to forward it to friends and colleagues to sign as well.  Download a CMA flier to post in your waiting room to encourage patients to get involved.

Where are the Medicare savings under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 going to come from?

Read how the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 impacts your medical practice.

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