ASCO Cancer Policy Alert Published

CMS to hold claims for 10 Business Days; Urge Congress to pass a Physician Payment Fix

In light of Congress's failure to pass legislation preventing the 10.6% Medicare payment cut, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is directing contractors not to process claims for dates of service July 1 through July 15. CMS is attempting to give Congress time to pass legislation when they return to work from the July 4th recess that would avert the cut, however, passage of such legislation is not guaranteed. CMS informed Congress of their intent via e-mail on Friday, June 27, 2008.

Payments for dates of service June 30 and earlier will be processed and paid as normal. After July 15, contractors will begin releasing claims for payment under the current law with the 10.6 percent cut. If Congress does pass an SGR fix retroactive to July 1, CMS will be prepared to automatically reprocess most of those claims that have already been processed.

It is important that your Members of Congress hear from you about this important issue while they are home over the July 4th recess. Please tell them how a 10.6% cut in Medicare payments will affect your practice. What you can do:

Meet with your Senator or Representative at a town hall meeting to raise the SGR issue. To find out if your Members of Congress are hosting town hall meetings over the next week, please contact ASCO's Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department at grassroots@asco.org. If they supported H.R. 6331 to prevent the SGR cut, thank them. If they did not vote for the legislation, urge them to do so when the next vote occurs. Please let ASCO know who you met with at publicpolicy@asco.org.

Make an appointment to meet Senators, Representatives, and staff in the state office. Remember, meeting with staff is just as good as meeting with the member. Again, please tell ASCO who you met with and the result of the meeting at publicpolicy@asco.org.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Information on how to write a letter to the editor can be found in your local paper.

ASCO will continue to keep members updated on this issue. If you have any questions, please contact ASCO's Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department at 703-299-1050 or publicpolicy@asco.org.