Physicians Get Short-Term Reprieve From Medicare Cuts

As it has for a number of years in the past, Congress in an 11th-hour deal averted a substantial Medicare pay cut for physicians by passing a short-term “doc fix.” Lawmakers just before Christmas approved the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which includes the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013. President Obama signed the measure into law on Dec. 26. The law blocks the 20.1 percent reduction in the Physician Fee Schedule update for 2014 and replaces it with a 0.5 percent increase for services provided through March 31, 2014. The reduction initially was to be 23.7 percent, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services later revised the figure downward. This temporary payment boost is intended to provide Congress with additional time to finalize pending legislation that would permanently repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula used to set Medicare payment for physicians. For details on efforts to enact long-term SGR reform, please see the Focus article beginning on page 4.