U.S. Senate passes H.R. 4213, potentially extending Medicare physician payment freeze

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.