On April 1, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. Below are the main points of the legislation:
- ICD-10 delayed until October 1, 2015 (a one year extension from the October 1, 2014 deadline that was previously scheduled).
- The law prevents the 24% SGR payment reduction, which was scheduled to hit April 1, 2014. This is the 12th year in a row for an SGR patch. While physicians are relieved to not see this drastic pay cut, many are frustrated that a permanent fix has not been achieved.
- The 0.5 percent fee schedule update for such services that applied from January 1, 2014 through March 31, 2014 will be extended for the period of April 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014.
- There will be a zero percent update to the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) through March 31, 2015.
- The 2% sequestration reduction on Medicare payments remains in place.
