Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congress Gets Deadline Extension On The Doc Fix
The Associated Press: Senate Has New Deadline To Avoid Doctors’ Medicare Cuts
Congress will get a little extra time to prevent a threatened 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. Technically, the cut was to take effect Wednesday. But the Department of Health and Human Services said it will hold off processing claims at the lower rate until April 15. (4/1)
In other Medicare news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will delay enforcement of the controversial “two midnight” payment policy -
Modern Healthcare: CMS Delays Enforcement Of 'Two Midnights' Rule For Another Month
The CMS is delaying enforcement of the controversial “two midnight” payment policy for short hospital stays until the end of April. The postponement allows Congress time to pass the package repealing Medicare's sustainable growth-rate formula when it reconvenes on April 13. That legislation includes a six-month delay in enforcement of the payment rule, which hospitals argue is unfair and undermines their clinical decisions. (Demko, 4/1)
