For the second month in a row, the U.S. Senate left town unable even to put another Band-Aid on Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. That means the 21.2-percent cut in physicians' Medicare payments takes effect April 1. Congress reconvenes from its Easter recess on April 12. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will hold all claims for the month until April 14. That gives lawmakers two days for another flash freeze. Congress' constant toying with physicians on this issue - and legislators' inability to approve a permanent replacement for the SGR - is totally unacceptable.
Next week, TMA and county medical societies will hold news conferences across the state to emphasize what this means to access to care for the elderly, Texans with disabilities, and military families. Please sign TMA's petition to "Stop the Medicare Meltdown."
TMA's Medicare Meltdown Action Center
Last Updated On
May 06, 2016
Originally Published On
September 13, 2010