Chris Jackson, press secretary for Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), said the temporary delay will allow Congress to work on a bipartisan bill with enough support to pass before the new deadline. Congress will return from the 4th of July recess on July 8.
"People call it the physician payment `fix,' but it's a fix for patients as well who won't have doctors to treat them if doctors have to take this arbitrary cut," he said.
Jackson said he is confident Congressional staffers will be busy drafting bills while Congress is in recess to allow the work to move forward as quickly as possible once lawmakers are back in session.
Gingrey called the CMS extension "an extraordinary but much-needed step to ensure that there is no disruption in the delivery and payment of physician services to Medicare patients."
"I hope that the Democratic leadership will make the most of this opportunity they've been given and will work with Republicans to pass a Medicare reimbursement bill that will serve both our patients and our physicians," he said.
The CMS intervention follows repeated failed attempts in June by Congress to get a physician pay fix passed. Congress had seemed to agree on a bill that would provide an 18-month delay in payment cuts and a 1.1 percent payment increase in 2009. The impasse centered on how to fund the bill, with Democrats in favor of cutting funds to Medicare Advantage, the Medicare HMO plan. Republicans are firmly against cuts to Medicare Advantage.
Jackson said he's optimistic the stumbling block might be removed in future attempts to pass a bill.
"I do believe there are ways to cut Medicare Advantage funding without direct cuts to the program," he said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has pushed hard for a compromise with an eye toward a bill that President Bush will sign which would have to include no cuts to Medicare Advantage.
According to the American Medical Association, if the cut is not corrected through legislation, 60 percent of physicians say they will drop Medicare participation.
If you are a physician participating in Medicare, how would a 10.6 percent payment cut affect your practice? Send your comments to Senior Editor Diana Manos at diana.manos@medtechpublishing.com.