The Senate announced Tuesday that it’s ready to take up a 19-month Medicare “doc fix,” but action will probably come too late to avoid cash-flow problems that could affect doctors across the country. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a press conference that the Senate is expected to have 60 votes to pass the bill “early next week,” but it may still take several days to be passed by the House and signed into law by President Barack Obama.
That’s bad news for doctors, who will see a 21.3 percent cut in their Medicare payment rates starting Tuesday, June 15. The cuts were scheduled to start June 1, but the agency that oversees Medicare has asked contractors to delay processing claims for 10 business days — the maximum it can delay payments under law — to give lawmakers time to act.
Full story: Delay in Medicare payment fix could mess up doctors’ federal cash flow – TheHill.com