Dear Ms. Cote: Thank you for contacting me about physician reimbursement rates and the need for a legislative correction. I appreciate hearing your views on this subject. Medicare physician fee schedule payments are updated each year according to a complex formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The SGR is linked to the performance of the overall economy, rather than the cost of providing health care services. As a result, physicians can be impacted negatively by large shifts in Medicare reimbursements from year to year, and physician services are the only category of Medicare-covered services subject to this formula. The SGR formula is calculated on an annual basis. Since 2003, Congress has passed legislation annually to prevent these reductions from occurring. On February 22, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L.112-96) to delay the cut in reimbursement rates through the end of 2012. However, without further Congressional action, physicians would have faced a 26.5% cut in reimbursement rates beginning in 2013. On January 1, 2013, the Senate passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. I supported this legislation, which, among other things, maintains current physician reimbursement rates through the end of December 2013. I am pleased Congress again avoided major cuts in Medicare reimbursements to health care providers. However, I believe Congress must continue to work to find a long-term solution to prevent these potentially devastating cuts from occurring. Following the Senate’s action, the American Taxpayer Relief Act was passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law by the President on January 2, 2013. Thank you again for contacting me. I will continue to work to ensure that Medicare providers receive adequate reimbursement for their services.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:43:42 +0000
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