U.S. Senate passes H.R. 4213, potentially extending Medicare physician payment freeze
Chicago —
(March 10, 2010)
Earlier today, the Senate passed H.R. 4213 which, among
other provisions, would extend the current freeze to the Medicare
Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula through September 30, 2010. The
bill now moves to the House of Representatives. If the House passes
the bill without significant revision or amendment, the Medicare
unadjusted anesthesia conversion factor would stay at the current figure
of $21.114, and the Resource Based Relative Value System (RBRVS)
conversion factor would remain $36.0846 for services provided through
September 30, 2010.
A key consideration at this time is whether
the bill can be signed into law before the current SGR freeze ends on
March 31, 2010. ASA will post updates as more information becomes
available.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the Lifeline of Modern Medicine TM. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with more than 50,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.
For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists website at www.asahq.org.
For patient information, visit
LifeLineToModernMedicine.com
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