Bobs Blog

Congress stops the 21% reduction in Medicare fees

The President Signs the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 —  2.2 Percent Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Update for June 1, 2010, Through November 30, 2010 

On June 25, 2010, President Obama signed into law the “Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010.”  This law establishes a 2.2 percent update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) payment rates retroactive from June 1 through November 30, 2010.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has directed Medicare claims administration contractors to discontinue processing claims at the negative update rates and to temporarily hold all claims for services rendered June 1, 2010, and later, until the new 2.2 percent update rates are tested and loaded into the Medicare contractors’ claims processing systems.  Effective testing of the new 2.2 percent update will ensure that claims are correctly paid at the new rates.  We expect to begin processing claims at the new rates no later than July 1, 2010.  Claims for services rendered prior to June 1, 2010, will continue to be processed and paid as usual.

Claims containing June 2010 dates of service which have been paid at the negative update rates will be reprocessed as soon as possible. 

Please be aware that we will experience very little Medicare payments the first half of July 2010, while our Medicare Contractor, Palmetto, begins reprocessing claims at the new fee schedule.  I am sure it will also take some time before we see the claims already paid at the 21% decrease reprocessed, as I am sure until the back log is cleaned up Palmetto will not begin cleaning up this issue.