Latest Medicare News

On October 25, 2013, National Government Services (NGS) will officially take over as the new carrier for Medicare Parts A and B for all of New England.

Summary of House legislation that would repeal the Medicare physician payment formula and replace with a new system of stable payment updates and incentives for meeting quality measures.

A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation on July 23 that would finally scrap the flawed physician payment formula for Medicare, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).

Effective Oct. 25, 2013, National Government Services (NGS) will be the new Medicare administrative contractor for Part A and Part B Services in New England.

Medicare has indefinitely delayed enforcing its requirement that physicians must be enrolled in Medicare to be reimbursed for certain Part B claims.

Facts about the federal budget sequestration, which cuts Medicare provider payments by 2% starting April 1, 2013.

Overview of the estimated impact of sequestration on physician Medicare payments, and on specific health care programs in Massachusetts.

MMS statement on the start of federal budget sequestration on March 1, 2013.

The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is an element of the Medicare physician payment formula that ties annual changes in payment rates to fluctuations in various economic benchmarks. There is bipartisan agreement that the formula inaccurately compensates physicians for the cost of medical practice,...

Physicians who were unable to file for a Medicare ePrescribing hardship exemption by the original 2012 deadline have until Jan. 31 to avoid the 1.5 percent payment penalty in 2013.

Following action by Congress on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, all services for Medicare patients provided after Jan. 1, 2013 will be reimbursed at 2012 rates.

Ramifications for Massachusetts physicians of being a participating or non-participating physician in Medicare.

A summary of the Medicare programs extended by HR 8, the "fiscal cliff" legislation passed by Congress on Jan. 1, 2013. - and a summary of the cuts that paid for the extensions.

Once again displaying the brinksmanship that was its hallmark, the 112th Congress finally passed legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff” for at least two more months, and blocked a devastating 27 percent cut in physician Medicare fees for at least another year.

Fiscal cliff" legislation now heads to the House

AMA says that with fiscal talks at an impasse, physicians should prepare for the possibility of a 27% cut in Medicare fees taking effect on Jan. 1.

With the year’s end in sight, and the potential start of the so-called fiscal cliff, I would like to once again reiterate how devastating the pending 27% Medicare physician payment cut would be to Medicare and Tricare patients as well as physicians in your District.

The arbitrary and formulaic sequestration approach is not the appropriate policy to attain our nation’s long-term health care goals. Congress should take a more targeted, rational approach that allows careful assessment of how to fulfill its long-term commitment to seniors, uniformed service...

A study sponsored by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association found that up to 766,000 health care and related jobs could be lost by 2021 as a result of the 2 percent sequester of Medicare spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of...