SGR, ICD-10 Extensions Approved by Senate

The Senate approved a bill Monday evening that prevents steep cuts to Medicare physician payments from going into effect for one year and delays the conversion to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes for at least one year.

The Senate voted 64-35 in favor of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which the House approved last Thursday. Assuming the president signs the legislation, it will be the 17th such patch that Congress has enacted since the so-called Medicare sustainable growth-rate formula became law in 1997.

Many senators made their disappointment with this short-term solution clear on Monday.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said it was an example of “why the American people are disgusted with (Congress). “We should be fixing this problem, instead of delaying the problem,” Coburn said before the legislation passed.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1i91O0O

Source: Modern Healthcare