It’s nothing new that Medicare providers are girding for a 2% pay cut March 1 if Congress fails to come to an agreement on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. But some specialty physicians are gearing up for what might happen if a deal is struck.
Specifically, they worry Congress might decide to pay for the deal by taking away the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) to the Stark self-referral law.
If that happened, the impact on physician practices would be huge. Any doctor that owned or has an interest in an ancillary service – such as a clinical lab, imaging equipment or therapy service – would probably be forced to divest those interests to be compliant with the Stark law.
There was an attempt to close the IOASE in December, the last time the country faced budget sequestration, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Though nothing formal has been suggested so far in this round of sequestration talks, the AAOS and other specialty societies aren’t taking any chances.
“Now with sequestration looming once more, the ability of our surgeons to provide integrated care to their patients is again at risk,” AAOS warns.
Even if Congress decides not to remove the IOASE to avert sequestration, doctors should continue to be vigilant. Legislators could decide to eliminate the exception as an offset to a permanent SGR repeal deal.