The House has passed a bill that would both temporarily shield physicians from steep pay cuts under Medicare's sustainable growth rate and delay the implementation of ICD-10, according to a report from The Hill.
The bill — which House lawmakers approved by voice vote — would shield physicians until the end of March 2015 from a 24 percent pay cut currently due to take effect April 1 under the SGR. The patch would be the latest in a series of short-term legislative solutions Congress has enacted every year since 2003 to stave off double-digit Medicare pay cuts for physicians under the SGR.
The House recently passed a bipartisan measure that would permanently solve the SGR issue by repealing the formula and replacing it with a payment system that incentivizes physicians to provide high-quality, low-cost care. However, the bill has not yet passed the Senate, and the White House has indicated President Barack Obama will veto the legislation if it reaches his desk because of an amendment delaying the individual mandate.
The short-term patch bill would also delay the implementation of ICD-10 to Oct. 1, 2015. Earlier this week, the American Health Information Management Association called on its members to contact members of Congress and voice opposition to the bill. CMS has estimated a one-year delay of ICD-10 could cost between $1 billion and $6.6 billion, according to AHIMA.
The American Medical Association has also expressed opposition to the bill, pushing for a permanent SGR solution rather than another temporary fix. "Full repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula is the answer to strengthening the Medicare program, not another patch," AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, said in a statement released by the organization. "We urge the House and the Senate to continue to pursue bipartisan negotiations on permanent SGR repeal legislation and for both chambers to oppose The Protecting Access to Medicare Act."
More Articles on the SGR:
AMA Opposes Temporary SGR Patch
Poll: Most Physician Leaders Don't Support Linking SGR Repeal, Individual Mandate Delay
House to Consider Bill Linking SGR Fix to ICD-10 Delay