Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

As 2011 comes to a close, it's clear that Congress plans to take the looming Medicare pay cuts right down to the wire.

Part B practices are facing a 27 percent cut to Medicare rates effective Jan. 1 unless Congress steps in and reverses that cut, which it has done in prior years. However, with the calendar almost about to turn to 2012, the government has not yet taken action.

"Once again, Congress failed to stop the charade of scheduled annual physician payment cuts and short-term patches that spend more taxpayer money to perpetuate a policy all agree is fatally flawed", said AMA president Peter W. Carmel, MD, in a statement. "A decade of uncertainty and repeated threats of steep cuts threaten access to care for seniors and military families who rely on the Medicare and TRICARE programs."

Keep an eye on the Insider as we cross into 2012 to determine whether Congress has taken action.