Congress defers physician pay cut but creates more chaos for providers and payors

In a last ditch effort to avert expiration of the payroll tax moratorium , Congress passed a two month extension punting the ball into next year. Along with the payroll tax extension, both the Medicare cuts to the physician’s fee schedule and elimination of the “TC Grandfather clause” was forestalled. The extension to all three was passed with an agreement that a bipartisan one year plan would be negotiated before the expiration of the two month extension. It is clear that while our politicians understand bad public policy and portend to care about healthcare costs, they have absolutely no appreciation for the enormous outlays associated with constantly changing rules and regulations that require healthcare providers and payors to jump through hoops programming systems and setting up procedures to deal with their short term follies. Unable to differentiate between temporary busy work and enduring productivity, lawmakers are undoubtedly patting themselves on the back for creating jobs.

– Lâle White