Medicare officials said recently that the agency will not process any payments to physicians until July 15 at the earliest, leaving the congressionally mandated 10.6% reimbursement reduction in limbo.

"We are not going to process any claims for health care services for the first 10 business days of July," said a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). "This means that by holding these claims that are delivered on or after July 1, CMS will not be making any payments on the 10.6% reduction until July 15, at the earliest."

CMS issued the statement after conflicting reports about the CMS action were published over the weekend. The Washington Post reported that Medicare would freeze payments to physicians at the June 30 level, while The New York Times reported that Medicare would hold all payments for 10 days.

The decision means that the 10.6% cut is essentially on hold, but if Congress doesn't step in with a fix when it returns after the July Fourth holiday, physicians can expect to be paid for July billings at the lower rate.

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Source: Medical News Today