SGR Update: No Vote from Senate; CMS to Hold Claims for 14 Days to Avoid 21% Cut March 27, 2015 Medicare, News CHIP, HR 2, Medicare, SGR 0 The Senate was unable to gain the necessary unanimous consent to “hotline” H.R. 2, The Medicare SGR and CHIP Reauthorization Act, to the Senate floor for a vote before leaving for the spring recess. While the both the Republican and Democratic Senate leaders believed they had the required 60 votes to pass the bill, a small handful of Republican Senators blocked the ability for the entire Senate to take a vote. They oppose the bill because it is not fully “paid for.” However, Senate Leader McConnell said the Senate will take up the legislation when they return in 2 weeks under the regular order of business which only requires 60 votes. SFMS would like to thank Senators Boxer and Feinstein for supporting the legislation. And with the landslide vote of 392-37 in the House yesterday, the momentum should propel the Senate to act quickly when they return from recess. In the meantime, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced they can hold physician claims on the payment floor for 14 days to avoid the devastating 21% payment cut that occurs on April 1, 2015. However, the Senate will need to act the first day they return to avoid the actual 21% payment cut. Comments are closed.
