You would win big-time if you’re a primary care practice, but lose big-time if you’re a specialist, under a new proposal by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The group has a budget-neutral, “paid-for” solution that repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula once and for all, saving all physicians from the annual cliffhanger Medicare pay cut that Congress always steps in to prevent.

The AMA, along with dozens of other physician groups, are asking in a nine-page letter for CMS to make more changes to its May 26 e-prescribing (e-Rx) proposed rule.

“While we appreciate the modifications CMS presented in the proposed rule, they don’t go far enough. More changes are needed, including establishing an additional reporting period in 2012 and not applying penalties until 2013,”said former AMA president Cecil Wilson in a news release.

 Nearly one in five of your private payer payments were inaccurate in 2011, according to the AMA's latest "National Heatlh Insurer Report Card," released June 20. The average rate of inaccurate payments is 19.3% in 2011, up from 17.3% in 2010, the AMA says. That 2% jump comes out to a $1.5 billion increase in administrative costs to the health system, the AMA estimates. "A 20% error rate among health insurers represents an intolerable level of inefficiency that wastes an estimated $17 billion annually," AMA Board Member Barbara McAneny, MD, said in a prepared statement.

You and your peers may be able avoid the 1% e-Prescribing (e-Rx) Medicare payment penalty if you qualify for one of CMS’s new proposed hardship exemptions outlined in its May 26 proposed rule. If finalized, the wil give providers a more flexible timeline and more options to claim a hardship exemption for not being able to meet the e-Rx requirement by June 30. 

The latest Medicare Trustees report is out and the news isn't good: Medicare is set to go bust in 2024, five years earlier than the 2029 date projected in last year's report. The Social Security program will run out of money earlier as well, in 2036 instead of 2037. Remember: The Medicare trust fund pays for Medicare Part A, which means hospital insurance is affected. Part B payments are funded entirely by tax revenue and premiums paid by beneficiaries themselves. Nevertheless, top physician advocacy groups leapt to the fore immediately after the report was released today.