Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Congress Hears AMA Plea to Consider Physician Payment Reform Congress may have passed a one-year Medicare payment fix for 2011, but that doesn't mean your payment woes are permanently gone. Physicians are still facing potential steep cuts for 2012, and the AMA wants lawmakers to fix those issues before they happen. AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on May 5 to recommend a repeal of the current payment formula (the sustainable growth rate, or SGR) and implementation of a five-year period of stable Medicare payments, followed by a new Medicare physician payment system that Medicare can develop and demo over the five-year stabilization period. It remains to be seen whether Congress takes up the AMA's recommendation, or whether a different model will be put into place before payment cuts hit physicians again in 2012. Use CMS resources to ensure you're ready [...]