Physician Reimbursement Cuts Avoided:

On Wednesday, the president signed H.R. 3630 into law to extend current physician payment rates under Medicare and Tricare through the end of the year. In 1997 Congress instituted a plan known as the Sustainable Growth Rate to keep Medicare and Tricare reimbursement rates in line with inflation; however, the cuts envisioned have never been instituted. The bill signing averted an “all-at-once” cut of 27.4 percent in the amount reimbursed to doctors, which could have prompted more physicians to opt out of accepting Medicare and Tricare patients.