Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate is expected to have 60 votes to pass the bill “early next week,” and then it may take several more days for the House to pass it. The House passed a different version of the fee-fix just before the Memorial Day recess.
The Senate’s 19-month fee-fix would not only prevent the cuts, retroactive to June 1, but also would give physicians a 2.2 percent pay boost for the remainder of the year and an extra 1 percent pay boost for 2011.
Officially, the 21.3 percent cut went into effect June 1, but CMS postponed processing physician claims for 10 business days, the maximum allowed under the law.
What should physicians’ office do with claims next week?
CMS said claims submitted before the fee-fix can be enacted would be subject to the 21.3 percent reduction for any services provided after June 1. The submitting physician would then have to wait for CMS to reprocess the claim and provide a second payment for the remaining amount.
The alternative is to hold off on submitting claims until the fee fix is enacted.
Read the Hill report on the physician fee-fix.
Read “As Congress Returns, Anxiety Over Deficits Puts Fee-Fix in Jeopardy.”
