Our Director of Benefits sent out the following information to our client and prospect data base this afternoon. Interestingly, we had two clients with questions on this very subject this week. Stay tuned for more updates:
You probably heard that Medicare was going to decrease reimbursements by 21%, effective June 1, 2010. This has been postponed until the end of November 2010, and reimbursements have actually been increased by 2.2%, effective June 1, 2010. (See excerpt below.)
Aetna Newsletter Excerpt – received 6/30/10:
At the end of the week it became clear that the Senate would be unable to pass a Jobs & Extenders bill that (depending on the version being considered) would have addressed uninsured benefits, such as the 65 percent COBRA subsidy, added Medicaid money through the FMAP formula or provided a six-month fix in physician reimbursement rates. The measure did not get the 60 required votes and failed 57 to 41. In light of the impasse in the Senate on the broader measure, the House on Thursday relented and approved (417 to 1) a more narrow provision — the same six-month “doc fix” provision passed by the Senate the week before. On Friday, the President signed this bill essentially wiping out a 21 percent cut to doctors and replacing it with a 2.2 percent increase retroactive to June 1. This messy process means Medicare doctors will not suffer a 21 percent reimbursement cut for 2010 until the end of November, and health plans will have to scramble to retroactively handle those claims from early June.
Texas Associates Blog 