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10/04/2009

Medicare Physician Payment Cuts Postponed until April 1

Medicare Physician Payment Cuts Postponed until April 1

On Tuesday, the Senate passed H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," which extends a number of expiring programs for 30 days, including current Medicare physician payment rates, which once again postpones the 21% cut that was scheduled to take effect this year. The President signed the legislation Tuesday evening and as a result, the payment cut that took effect on March 1 has been postponed until April 1.

Discussions are underway in the House and Senate about the next steps that will be taken to address the Medicare payment crisis. Proposals circulating in Congress also could implement short-term solutions to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, and could postpone cuts for 90 days, 7 months, or through the end of 2010.  ACEP along with the AMA, AARP and a host of physician specialty organizations, continues to urge Congress to permanently fix the flawed reimbursement system.

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