Obama Budget to Delay Medicare Cuts for Two More Years

Last December, Part B practices heaved a sigh of relief when Congress froze Medicare payments at 2010 levels throughout 2011. And because of that vote, you have not had to deal with the potentially devastating 25 percent cuts that you would have faced on January 1 this year.

However the cuts are still poised to take effect next year. Until and unless of course Obama's new budget proposal clears administrative barriers.

On February 14 this year, the White House Office Management and Budget made its new budget proposal public. Accordingly, this would delay Medicare cuts for a couple of years more, through December 31, 2013. The pay cuts would still kick in as of 2014; however physician advocacy groups hope that a lasting solution to the Medicare payment issues (http://supercoder.com/)will be established by then.

According to a statement from Office of Management and Budget director Jack Lew, "In December, there was a bipartisan agreement to pay for a one-year extension of the so called 'doc fix,' which was not needed by budget rules; however was the right thing to do." "Building on that, our budget identifies $62 bn of specific health savings to pay for the coming two years of this fix, establishing a clear pattern that, consistent with our budget, this needs to be paid in the times to come.

Aside from this, Obama's budget proposal also includes $250 M in grants to states to reform the way medical liability disputes are resolved. The Department of Justice would award the grants with the Department of Health and Human Services.