CMS to hold Medicare claims for four more days

The Hill's Blog Briefing Room: "Doctors treating Medicare patients won't be hit with a steep pay cut Tuesday, as previously scheduled, the Obama administration announced Monday. Instead, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding claims until Friday, anticipating that Congress will intervene this week. The move is the latest in a string of efforts to prevent Medicare doctors from receiving a 21 percent pay cut, which technically went into effect June 1." The agency had initially delayed processing claims until June 15. A Senate leadership spokesperson said Monday, according to The Hill, that "Democrats hope to pass the bill — a provision of a larger tax extenders package — by the end of the week" (Lillis, 6/14).

The Associated Press: "The House has already approved a fix, which is pending in the Senate." Currently, doctors are not getting paid for services they provided as of June 1, but this step is designed to make sure when payment resumes "they'll get the full amount" (6/14).