President Bush Signs Medicare Payment Bill Into Law

Legislation that prevents a 5 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians in 2007 was signed by President Bush Dec. 20.

The legislation means family physicians likely will see a slight increase in Medicare payments because -- in addition to preventing the pay cut -- the law also allows new relative values for evaluation and management, or E/M, codes to become effective. Those new values will increase payments for CPT codes 99213 and 99214, the two most commonly billed primary care codes. Moreover, beginning in July 2007, physicians can qualify for a 1.5 percent payment increase for reporting on quality measures.

Dubbed "a real win" by AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., the new law sets the stage for concerted efforts in 2007 to change the system on which Medicare physician payment is based. That effort will focus on changing the sustainable growth rate formula currently used to calculate Medicare payments to physicians. The AAFP has called for reforming the payment system to keep pace with inflationary costs and to promote the use of a personal medical home.