Medicare Payment Cut Stopped

House leaders agreed to the two-month extension bill that passed the Senate a week ago. The House passed the bill on unanimous consent today.  The legislation will  stop the 27.4% Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement rate cut through the end of February 2012.  A House-Senate Conference Committee will begin work on a longer term agreement on the payroll tax, unemployment benefits and the Medicare physician payment formula. 

CMA President, Jim Hay, MD, sent a letter to the House and Senate Congressional leaders and the California Congressional delegation urging them to immediately stop the Medicare SGR cut and to develop a longer-term path to an alternative payment system.