Medicare measure sent to White House

July 11, 2008 — The Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331) has now been sent to the White House. The President has previously threatened to veto the bill because of changes outlined in the legislation to the Medicare Advantage program; however, because the bill passed both Houses with more than a two-thirds majority vote, it is likely that a veto could be overridden.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has instructed Medicare carriers to not process any physician and nonphysician practitioner claims for the first 10 business days of July. By holding claims for healthcare services that are delivered on or after July 1, 2008, CMS will not make any payments that reflect the 10.6-percent reduction until July 15, at the earliest.

Meanwhile, all claims for services delivered on or before June 30, 2008, will be processed and paid in regular order. 

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org