The Senate's six-month Medicare pay patch proposal has received a chilly reception in the House of Representatives, so far. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has panned the bill as "inadequate" and called on the Senate to pass an expansive package of tax provisions, extenders and the House Democrats' 19-month doc fix.

"The inadequate legislation on physicians' fees that Senate Republicans allowed to pass today is a great disappointment," Pelosi stated in a press release on Friday. "The House has approved long-term reform that ensures that Medicare patients will have access to quality physicians' services."

The House's American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act failed to gain enough support to pass procedural hurdles in the Senate last week. The Senate only passed the six month fix - which retroactively raises Medicare reimbursements by 2.2% from June 1 through Nov. 30 - by unanimous consent after CMS began processing physician claims with the 21.3% sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut on Friday. The SGR cut only effects claims with dates of service on or after June 1. 

A massive surge in traffic to CMS's online Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) website is causing significant performance problems. It seems a huge number of practices are signing on to update their providers' PECOS information as the July 6 deadline for the ordering/referring rule nears. A technician at the EUS Help Desk acknowledged the issue and said it was being caused by "lots of people signing and accessing their accounts." Nothing can be done to mitigate the sudden burden on the server, and she suggested users try signing off and accessing the system in the late afternoon or evening, when traffic is usually lower ... (read full post)

The Senate passed a six-month Medicare payment fix just hours after CMS ordered carriers to begin processing claims with the scheduled 21.3% reimbursement cut. The pay fix bill needs to pass the House of Representatives, which is in recess until Tuesday June 22, before it can go to the president for his signature.

The temporary pay fix includes a 2.2% boost to Medicare reimbursements retroactive to June 1.

The House initially voted for a 19-month pay fix, but the legislation failed to gain enough support to pass procedural hurdles in the Senate. It remains to be seen how House leaders will react to the reduced Senate measure.  

CMS sent a memo advising lawmakers that it has begun to pay June 1 claims with the 21.3% cut after delaying claims processing for 17 days.  "We continue to monitor Congressional actions, and if Congress changes the negative update that is currently in effect, we are prepared to act expeditiously to make the appropriate changes to Medicare claims processing systems," the memo stated.

One out of every five private payer claims are processed incorrectly by insurance carriers, according to the AMA's 2010 National Health Insurer Report Card, released June 14. The results were based on the AMA's benchmarks of seven major private insurers: Aetna, Anthem BCBS, CIGNA, Coventry, HCSC, Humana and UHG. NOTE: The AMA's analysis did not include any Medicare or Medicaid contractors (read the full post for a breakdown of error rates by insurer).

CMS will hold claims for an extra three days after President Barack Obama pleaded with Congress to delay the 21.3% cut to Medicare payments during his weekly presidential address.

"We cannot allow this to happen," Obama said on Saturday. "We have to fix this problem so that our doctors can get paid for the life-saving services they provide and keep their doors open. We have to fix this problem to keep the promise of Medicare for our seniors so that they get the health care they deserve.  So I urge Republicans in the Senate to at least allow a majority of Senators and Congressmen to stop this pay cut.  I urge them to stand with America's seniors and America's doctors."

The Obama administration followed the president's remarks by buying lawmakers extra time to pass a fix.

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