Is Medicare being cut off starting Monday? MS radio guest says so

[DeltaLitProf]

I was listening to the Right-wing talk network in Mississippi, Supertalk, just now. During the drive time show hosted by a partisan hack columnist from the Mississippi Clarion Ledger named Sid Salter, a doctor called in who is a frequent guest.

This doctor, named Jerry Easterling said that starting Monday he would not be receiving the Medicare reimbursement for treating patients in that program. He said the House had voted to keep the payments up, but that the Senate is adjourned and did not act in time to keep the payments going.

Is this correct? Are Medicare reimbursements being cut off to doctors as of Monday? Or is "Dr." Easterling just indulging in some anti-Democrat fear-mongering?

[monmouth]

1. Probably something the repug obstructionists are sitting on...n/t

[babylonsister]

2. Did the doc on this r/w program blame it on rethug Bunning?

Medicare Pay Cut Goes Into Effect on Monday
By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: February 26, 2010


WASHINGTON -- A 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement will go into effect March 1, after the Senate failed to pass a bill to stop the cuts.

Senators tried Thursday night and Friday morning to pass a bill to delay the SGR-mandated decrease until the end of March. But one senator stood in the way.

Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), the former major league baseball player, who is retiring from the Senate this year, repeatedly objected to passing the bill through a procedure called unanimous consent. Bunning said he couldn't support a bill that is not paid for.

The $10 billion bill would have extended a number of federal programs set to expire, including a $7 billion extension of unemployment benefits.

The Medicare reimbursement cuts were scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, but Congress voted in December to approve a three-month delay. Racing against the clock, the House voted Thursday night to approve the package of provisions that would extend a number of programs set to expire.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) chastised the Hall of Fame pitcher for being the lone voice of dissent on the "extenders" package.

more...

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PracticeManagement/Reimbursement/18711

[DeltaLitProf]

4. Wow.

I am so calling up the host of the show to correct the record.

[Bitwit1234]

5. SEE republicans are doing everything the can to obstruct programs

they know that eventually the Democrats will get blamed for this. Can someone already in the Hall of Fame for Baseball get kicked out. If so lets start a letter writing campaign to kick this POS out of the Hall of Fame and make a new name for him in the Hall of Shame. I/m game.

[babylonsister]

6. Sen. Wyden is on it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7802485

[still_one]

8. And this is where the Democrats fail to pre-empt the republican lies before they get out

and they should insure that they get onto the major MSM stations to tell everyone what the republicans are doing to them

[DesertFlower]

3. it doesn't make sense. nt

[napi21]

7. If that were true it would be all over the cable news channels!

Somebody's lying here, and I bet I know who!

[aquart]

9. OMG! Bunning kills TV!!!!

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/reid-nearly-15-million-to_n_478800.html?ref=twitter>

"The package of extensions the Senate failed to pass included not just a 30-day extension of unemployment benefits but also extensions of subsidized COBRA health insurance, flood insurance, small business loans, highway funding, and, apparently, a "satellite television extension" that allows people in rural areas to watch their local TV stations via satellite."

Damn, that flood insurance would sure come in handy in the Mid-Atlantic states just now.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. The world is going to end on the 28th anyway.

So what does it matter........

[Obamanaut]

12. Bad news indeed for me. Netflix owes me two movies. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

13. No sweat. We'll seek a delay. n/t

[subterranean]

11. Medicare reimbursements aren't controlled by Congress.

I've never heard of a vote being needed to continue Medicare payments.

ON EDIT: I stand corrected (partially).
I looked it up and found that the Medicare payment rate IS scheduled to be cut by 21.2 percent on March 1, and the Senate failed to pass a short-term "payment patch" to reverse it. However, according to the article, doctors should still get paid on time.

Link here:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20100226pay-cut-updt.html

[county worker]

14. I work for a provider, a psychiatric hospital facility. We have no reports that

Medicare is being held up.

Here is the news from CMS. Center for Medicare Services

Newsroom Center



Spotlight
Press Resource: Proposed Nursing Home 5-Star System for Nursing Home Compare
Press Resource: Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS)



News

C M S Proposes Definition Of Meaningful Use Of Certified Electronic Health Records ( E H R ) Technology
F A Qs: Individuals Arriving From Haiti For Medical Care
C M S H1n1 Information
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act Of 2009 ( C H I P R A )
Stop Medicare And Medicaid Fraud



http://www.cms.hhs.gov/center/press.asp

[slipslidingaway]

15. Medicare Pay Cut Goes Into Effect on Monday

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PracticeManagement/Reimbursement/18711

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: February 26, 2010


WASHINGTON -- A 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement will go into effect March 1, after the Senate failed to pass a bill to stop the cuts.

Senators tried Thursday night and Friday morning to pass a bill to delay the SGR-mandated decrease until the end of March. But one senator stood in the way...

The scheduled cuts are mandated under the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula -- the Medicare accounting scheme that links Part B reimbursement to the gross domestic product (GDP). The formula has mandated large cuts every year over most of the last decade, forcing organized medicine to rally the troops to fight the cuts.

Years of battle have, however, left doctors weary of this annual ritual, and this year they have been vocal in opposing a temporary fix, like one proposed by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). As a result, organized medicine is now pushing hard for a permanent solution that would scrap SGR altogether.

Doctors groups were clearly frustrated with the Senate's failure to act.

The American Medical Association said that starting Monday, the 21% cut will force doctors to "consider the difficult decision to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they see in order to keep their practice doors open."

[annabanana]

16. If the Senate failed to act on a House initiative, odds are that it

was REPUBLICANS blocking it up.

Constipation Conservatives.

on edit:

I KNEW IT!

"Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), the former major league baseball player, who is retiring from the Senate this year, repeatedly objected to passing the bill through a procedure called unanimous consent."

[slipslidingaway]

17. And there was nothing the Dems could do because he would not relent...

"...The Senate adjourned before noon on Friday after it became clear Bunning wouldn't relent..."

:shrug:


http://www.medpagetoday.com/PracticeManagement/Reimbursement/18711