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This morning Ron Decker, Innovative Healthcare CEO, had the opportunity to spend time with Senator James Lankford (R-OK) regarding the issue of the SGR Repeal or the “Doc Fix”. Senator Lankford was optimistic that the legislation should end up on the President’s desk by this time next week, although there would most likely be some amendments.  It is widely anticipated that the President will sign it into law.  This is not breaking news, as most medical associations have indicated that the repeal process would legislatively move in this direction.

As you are aware, the 21% cut for Medicare services went into effect April 1^st because the law had not been passed in the Senate and signed by the President.  The Medicare program holds claims for 10 business days before processing.  So claims for dates of service after the 1^st could be processed beginning April 15^th.

Ron expressed concern that delaying the process any more will have a negative impact on our clients, and Innovative with the additional costs associated with processing and reprocessing after the repeal of the 21% cut.  The Senator expressed his interest in moving the bill quickly to avoid this scenario, but did indicate that there could be delays beyond the 10 day standard.

Therefore we wanted you to be aware as it will impact our clients Medicare reimbursement in the short term.

We will watch this situation closely next week and notify you as soon as we have information that is definitive.