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Unless Congress acts during the "lame duck" session in December, election-weary legislators may put off action until 2007 to block a steep drop in Medicare payments for health care providers.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has indicated that a 5% cut for next year's fee schedule will result as the result of a statutory formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The SGR was originally created to provide stable, long-term growth in Medicare fee schedule expenditures by tying payment increases to a target growth rate based on overall annual expenditures. Over the last six years, Congress has overturned scheduled cuts in every year except one.
You can send an e-mail in a few minutes by visiting ASHA's Take Action Web site. Your e-mail and telephone calls are needed to let your elected legislators know how these cuts will affect you and your patients. Please contact your Representative and Senators urging them to contact congressional leadership to ensure that Medicare payment fix legislation is enacted before the end of the year.
For additional information, please contact Elizabeth Mundinger, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, by e-mail at emundinger@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4473.
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