Breaking News - Important Health Care Information You Need to Know About

This is very important for health care for Medicare and even private insurances. If this bill is not passed, look for a doctor to only be available in an emergency. So far the Senate has passed H.R. 4213 but the House will not vote on this until next week. That means that as of today, doctors will be seeing a 21.3% cut in their payments for their services. Is there going to be a doctor available until the House passes the bill and President Obama signs it? You may have to look hard for one.

Call your senator or representative today!

As the clock continues to tick toward the June 18 final deadline for implementation of the 21.3 percent cut in Medicare physician payments produced by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, U.S. Senate debate continued June 17 over H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. In addition to providing another short-term reprieve from the impending Medicare cut, the legislation would increase federal Medicaid funding and extend various expiring programs, such as disaster relief and long-term unemployment insurance benefits.

If legislation is not signed into law before the weekend, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will have no option but to instruct its contractors to begin processing Medicare claims for physician services provided in June at rates that reflect the 21.3 percent cut.

Source: AMA Alert [6/17/10}