Medicare Legislation Status

Although there is some debate of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) repeal movement in the Energy & Commerce Committee and Ways & Means, there is little movement on Medicare legislation expected until late this calendar year when Congress is forced to deal with the looming debt ceiling limit in order to avoid another downgrade of the United States bond credit rating. Physicians of all stripes can be expected to lobby against implementation of the SGR once again as full implementation would mean a significant reduction of reimbursement rates starting early next year just when the Affordable Care Act is to launch. NSAA's shortterm goal in this context is to get Congressional reinforcement for CMS recognition of CSAs through that agency's authorization of a specific National Provider Identifier for CSAs.