Sen. Grassley Proposes One-Year Halt to Medicare Physician Reimbursement Rate Cuts

Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has stated that committee Republicans favor a one-year, rather than a two-year, suspension of a 10% reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, Congress Daily reports. Grassley said that lawmakers would have less difficulty with passage of a one-year suspension of the scheduled reduction in physician reimbursements, with a two-year delay likely to cost $20 billion. Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has proposed a $25 billion to $30 billion Medicare package that would suspend the scheduled reduction in physician reimbursements for two years and provide subsidies for rural and low-income beneficiaries. According to congressional sources and lobbyists, Baucus has proposed at least $8 billion to $12 billion in reductions in reimbursements to private Medicare Advantage plans to help offset the cost. The AMCNO and other physician organization continue to advocate on behalf of physicians in an attempt to stop the Medicare payment cuts in 2008.