Web Exclusive:CMS to hold provider claims for first 10 business days of June

By Sheila Madhani, assistant director of health policy

For the third month in a row, Congress missed the deadline to act before the temporary reprieve from the 21 percent Medicare physician cut expired. While the House of Representatives approved legislation that will suspend the cut to physician Medicare payments, the Senate failed to act on the legislation before the Memorial Day break. As a result, pay cuts will go into effect as scheduled on June 1, 2010. The Senate is expected to address this legislation when they return June 7, 2010. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has instructed its contractors to hold claims for services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of June. It is anticipated that this hold should have minimum impact on provider cash flow because, under the current law, clean electronic claims are not paid any sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt.

ASTRO will keep members informed as new information becomes available.