Since the publication of the 2011 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, the AASM has contacted about 300 members of Congress to voice concerns about the scheduled cuts to payments that physicians receive for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, requesting that they support a long-term fix.
On Wednesday the Senate unanimously approved by voice vote a bipartisan bill (HR 4994) that would delay scheduled cuts, which were the result of the SGR, to physicians’ Medicare payments for one year.
The Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 would extend current Medicare reimbursement rates until Jan. 1, 2012. The bill is expected to be passed quickly by the House and signed by President Obama.
This action by Congress only addresses overall physician payments and has no effect on the scheduled reductions to the relative value units (RVUs) for sleep medicine codes as published in the 2011 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. Currently the AASM is drafting comments that will be sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the revaluation of the RVUs for sleep medicine codes and the methodology used to revalue these codes.
