Society Advocacy on Behalf of its Members
The Heart Rhythm Society advocates on an ongoing basis for legislative action to prevent a 40 percent decrease in physician reimbursement over the next nine years [see below for updates]. Along with other medical societies, the Society is advocating for the replacement of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) with a system of positive payment updates based on increases in practice costs. Background on the history of SGR Sustainable Growth Rate.
2011
No Resolution on Fixing the SGR — CMS to Hold Medicare Claims (12/20/2011) On Tuesday, December 20, the House of Representatives rejected the Senate-passed 2-month extension to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced earlier this week that the Agency will instruct its Medicare claims administration contractors to hold claims containing 2012 services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of January 2012 (i.e., Sunday, January 1 through Tuesday, January 17) if Congress fails to pass a fix before the end of the year. Learn more »
MedPAC Recommends Further Cuts to Specialty Services (10/06/2011) On October 6, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to recommend that Congress repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. Learn more »
Alliance of Specialty Medicine Opposes MedPAC Draft Recommendations on SGR (09/30/2011) On September 23, the Alliance of Specialty Medicine sent a letter to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Chairman opposing the Commission’s draft recommendations which would cut non-primary care services payments by 5.9 percent for three years, followed by a freeze for the remaining seven years. Learn more ».
2010
President Obama Signs a 31-Day Medicare Payment Patch Into Law (11/30/2010) — As previously reported, on November 29, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a 31-day temporary "fix" that will avert a 23 percent cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients. Since this bill was already passed by the Senate before the Thanksgiving recess, it was sent directly to President Obama for his signature. In signing the patch into law, the President urged Congress to pass a one-year extension in order to ensure that seniors maintain access to the doctors they know and trust. Learn more »
Senate Passes a 31-Day Temporary Physician Payment Fix; House to Vote on November 29 (11/24/2010) — On November 18, the U.S. Senate approved by unanimous consent the Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010, a 31-day payment "patch" to the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Although the Society has long advocated for a permanent repeal of the SGR formula and the establishment of a new payment system, the patch would freeze current rates and temporarily avert a 23 percent cut to physicians slated to go into effect on December 1. The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the fix when Congress reconvenes on November 29. Learn more »
Six-Month Medicare 'Doc Fix' Signed into Law (06/25/2010) — On Friday, June 25, U.S. President Barack Obama signed it into law a temporary fix that averted a 21.3 percent cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients. CMS expects to begin processing claims at the new rates no later than July 1, 2010; claims containing June dates of service already paid at the negative update rates will be reprocessed. Learn more »
Society Volunteers Meet with Members of Congress (06/23/2010) — Six volunteers represented the Heart Rhythm Society at the Alliance of Specialty Medicine Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, which ended today. They were among 85 specialty physicians who participated in yesterday's Health Policy Forum and today's Capitol Hill Day, meeting with members of Congress to discuss the implementation of health care reform, as well as the ongoing Medicare physician payment cut issue. Learn more »
Medicare Physician Payment Update — Senate Passes Six Month Temporary Fix with House Vote Scheduled Next Week — (06/18/2010) This week, the Senate debated a number of temporary fixes to avert the 21.3 percent Medicare Physician Payment Cut that went into effect on June 1. While they rejected several potential solutions, the Senate finally passed a six month patch today by unanimous consent. The proposal provides a 2.2 percent increase until November 30, 2010. The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval; the House will vote on this bill early next week. Learn more »
Update: Temporary Fix for Medicare Physician Payment Cuts (06/16/2010) — The Senate is currently debating temporary fixes to avert the Medicare physician payment cuts that went into affect on June 1. This morning it failed to pass a motion to waive the Pay-Go requirement, which requires amendments to be fully offset, for an amendment that was introduced by Senator Baucus. This amendment would have provided a 19-month fix similar to the one passed by the House of Representatives in May. The Senate is scheduled to vote tomorrow (June 17) on Senator Thune's amendment, which would provide a two percent increase until 2012. Learn more »
Medicare Contractors for CMS to Hold Claims through Thursday (06/14/2010) — After its return from the Memorial Day Recess (which ended on June 7), the Senate began its debate on this provision. Given the possibility of congressional actions in the next few days, CMS directed its contractors to continue holding claims for physician services until this Thursday June 17. Learn more»
Congress Fails to Address Medicare Physician Payment Cut Before June 1 Deadline (5/28/2010) — The House of Representatives passed a 19 month fix to avert the 21.3 percent cut in Medicare Reimbursement,. However, the Senate the Senate will not vote until the week of June 7 as they already left for Memorial Day Recess. In response, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) instructed its contractors to hold claims for physician services for 10 business days. Learn more »
Congress Scheduling Votes on Medicare Physician Payment Cuts (05/25/2010) — The 21.3 percent cut in Medicare physician reimbursement is scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday, June 1, and Congress is currently working on a proposal to avert these cuts. This proposal is incorporated in the new tax extender bill entitled "American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act" (H.R. 4213), which was released on Thursday, May 20. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the bill on Wednesday, May 26. Votes in Congress will be challenging as both conservative House Democrats and House and Senate Republicans are worried about its impact on the deficit. Learn more »
Medicare Physician Payment Cuts Not “Fixed”; CMS Holds Claims for 10 Business Days (03/31/2010)— Beginning April 1, Medicare physician reimbursements will be cut by 21.3 percent, the result of Congress’ failure to act before the spring recess. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has instructed its contractors to hold claims containing services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of April in the hope that this issue is resolved. Learn more and Tell Congress to Act NOW »
Future Uncertain for Medicare Physician Payment Cuts (03/19/2010) — With the April 1st deadline looming, some Members of Congress have been trying to prevent the scheduled 21.2 percent Medicare physician payment cut. However, it is unclear if Congress will be able to act before the deadline, since it is focused on passing the health care reform legislation before the congressional spring recess. Learn more »
Medicare Physician Payment Cuts Effective on Monday, March 1 (02/26/2010) — The 21.2 percent Medicare physician payment Medicare physician payment cuts are scheduled to go into effect March 1, 2010. On Thursday, February 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a 30-day extension and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) tried to achieve the same in the Senate through a unanimous consent request, but was defeated due to Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) objections. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are notifying their contractors to hold Medicare physician claims for 10 business days to see if this can be resolved by the Senate, which has adjourned for the weekend. Learn more »
Take Action! Ask Congress to fix permanently the Medicare Physician Payment (01/29/2010) — The Medicare Payment amendment passed on January 28 does not modify policy. Congress still needs to pass legislation that would repeal the SGR or put in place a fix to prevent the 21.2 percent cut scheduled to go into effect on March 1. Take Action Now!
Senate Takes First Step Toward Repealing the Medicare Physician Payment Formula (1/29/2010) — The Senate passed an amendment to the debt limit expansion legislation that waives the “pay-go” requirement for Medicare physician payment. The next step is to include the details of the policy changes that repeal the Medicare SGR formula, as an amendment to another piece of legislation, the COBRA/unemployment extension bill. This is scheduled for debate next week. Learn more »
Senate is Considering a “Doc-Fix” as Part of Debt Limit Expansion (01/27/2010) — Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, confirmed that the Senate Leadership is currently working on a fix to the Medicare physician payment reduction, including addressing the 21.2 percent cut that is scheduled to go into effect on March 1st. Learn more »
2009
Medicare Physician Payment Cuts — 60-Day Delay Approved by Congress (12/22/2009)— Last week, Congress included in the FY 2010 defense appropriations legislation a 60-day patch to the Medicare physician payment cuts. The patch will delay implementation of the scheduled 21.2 percent payment cut by extending the 2009 conversion factor for 60 days. This will give lawmakers time to move forward with a longer-term solution to the physician payment formula. This week, the proposed one-year, 0.5 percent patch to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula was eliminated from the Senate health care reform legislation with a statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that he intends to pass legislation to permanently repeal the SGR formula after the holidays. Learn more »
House Passes Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (11/20/2009) The U.S. House of Representatives has debated and passed the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act, which would repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, provide an positive update in 2010 based on the Medicare Economic Index and replace the SGR formula with two separate spending targets beginning in 2011. Learn more »
House Passes Health Care Reform Bill (11/11/2009) — On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the health care reform bill and is scheduled to debate and vote on the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009" — which will repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and establish a long-term fix — after November 16. Learn more »
Medicare Physician Payment “Fix” Defeated in The Senate (10-21-2009) —The Senate debated and voted for cloture on the “Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009,” S. 1776, which would repeal the sustainable growth formula and install a freeze on reimbursement for 2010 and subsequent years. A 47-53 vote defeated the cloture motion. Several Democrats voted against the bill. As a result, S. 1776 will not move forward in the legislative process. Learn more »
Medicare Physician Fairness Act Introduced (10/14/2009) —Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the “Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009” (S. 1776), which would permanently repeal the Medicare physician payment update formula (also known as the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula). The proposed legislation would erase the SGR debt (avoiding the 21% cut in January 2010) and would install a freeze in reimbursement rates for 2010 and subsequent years. Learn more »
Take Action! Help Stop Payment Cuts to Electrophysiology Services! (07/15/2009) — If Congress does not act before the year's end, Medicare will cut payments to all physicians by 21.5% on January 1, 2010. An additional 11% cut to the average cardiology practice is proposed due to several technical changes in Practice Expense calculations. Contact your Legislators to Act to Prevent these Cuts. Learn more »
CMS Proposed Payment and Policy Changes for Physician Services in 2010 (07/08/2009) —The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule for display on July 1, 2009 that projects a -21.5 percent payment rate cut across all medical specialties in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for calendar year (CY) 2010. In addition, CMS is proposing a number of changes to the calculation and establishment of Practice Expense, and Malpractice RVUs that would result in an 11 percent decrease for cardiology services as a whole. CMS will accept public comments on the proposed rule until August 31, 2009, and anticipates issuing a final rule by November 1, 2009. Learn more »
2008
Congress Overrides Presidential Medicare Veto (07/16/2008) — On July 15 Congress overwhelmingly overrode President Bush's veto of HR 6331, the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act. The bill reverses the 10.6 percent Medicare physician payment cut that went into effect July 1 and will extend the .5 percent update to physician payments through the end of 2008 and provide a 1.1 percent update for 2009. A number of other provisions such as an extension of PQRI and bonuses for e-prescribing are also included. Learn more »
Senate Passes Legislation Reversing Medicare Physician Payment Cut (07/09/2008) — On July 9 the Senate passed HR 6331, "The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008," which will continue the .5 percent update for the remainder of 2008 and provide a 1.1 percent update for 2009. . The President may decide to not veto the bill, despite previous threats, because of the overwhelming support of both chambers. The Society will keep you updated on these developments as well as the impact on the processing of claims on services rendered on or after July 1, 2008. Learn more »
Congress Fails to Pass Legislation Stopping 10.6% Medicare Physician Payment Cut Going Into Effect July 1 (06/27/2008) — Unfortunately before recessing for the 4th of July, Congress failed to pass legislation which would have halted the 10.6% Medicare Physician payment cut. Therefore, the cut will go forward as scheduled and will affect services rendered on or after July 1, 2008. The 1.0 floor on the geographic practice cost indexes (GPCI) also expires, meaning an additional 1%-3% cut for physicians in areas impacted by the GPCI. Learn more »
House Passes Medicare Bill; Democratic Leadership in Senate to Push for Vote on Package (06/25/2008) — On June 20, the Heart Rhythm Society and other medical societies were called into a meeting by the Office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to discuss the introduction of HR 6331 "The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008". The House passed the bill by an overwhelming vote of 355 to 59, and Senate Democratic leadership is planning for a vote to move the package forward on June 26, hoping for enough Republican support to avoid a filibuster threat. The President however continues to threaten to veto any legislation which cuts Medicare Advantage plans in order to fund other Medicare proposals. Learn more »
Update-Medicare Physician Payment Legislation (06/18/2008) — Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced legislation June 6 to halt the 10.6% Physician Medicare Payment Cut; however, it failed to garner enough votes to move forward. On June 11, Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced his version of a bill that contained similar provisions addressing physician issues. Democrats will have to negotiate a compromise with Republicans and also find off-sets that do not elicit Presidential veto threats, such as the proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage Plans. Learn more »
Legislation Introduced to Halt 10.6% Payment Cut (06/07/2008) — On Friday, June 6, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced S. 3101, “The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.” Among the provisions, the bill blocks the pending 10.6 percent Medicare physician payment cuts through December 31, 2009 and provides a 1.1 percent update for 2009. Learn more »
Lobbyists Meet with Committee Chairman on Physician Payments (04/11/2008) — The Heart Rhythm Society met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) as part of a closed meeting with medical society lobbyists on Friday, April 11, to discuss possible Medicare legislation. Learn more »
2008 Medicare Trustees Report Projects Cuts of 41% in Physician Payments by 2016 (03/26/2008) — The Boards of Trustees for Medicare report annually to the Congress on the financial operations and actuarial status of the program. The 2008 yearly report, which includes projections for future physician reimbursement rates, was issued on March 25, 2008. Learn more »
2007
Heart Rhythm Society Helps Stop 10.1% Medicare Physician Payment Cuts — Heart Rhythm Society members who took part in calls to “Take Action!” increased the pressure for Congress to stop unsustainable and unfair payment cuts. Learn more »
Heart Rhythm Society: President's 2008 Budget Compromises Advancements in Cardiovascular Treatment (02/08/2007) — The Heart Rhythm Society expresses mixed feelings about President Bush’s fiscal year 2008 budget request. Learn more »
2006
Congress Passes Legislation Averting 5% Medicare Physician Payment Cut (12/11/2006) — View the highlights of the bill which stop the 5% cut.
2005
The Preserving Patient Access To Physicians Act of 2005 — Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced S.1081, the Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2005, which would replace projected Medicare payment cuts with positive updates in each of the next two years. The bill would provide an update of no less than 2.7% in 2006 and an update in 2007 that reflects physician practice cost inflation, which is expected to be about 2.6%. Learn more »
