Despite the U.S. House's resounding vote to dash the sustainable growth rate (SGR), the Senate adjourned for a scheduled recess March 27 without taking up the bill, leaving physicians wondering whether the axe will fall at the end of the month.
 
Without further action, physicians face a 21% pay cut for all Medicare services – a similar situation that lawmakers have avoided 17 times in recent years with temporary "doc fix" patches. The current version of the doc fix law, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2) that would repeal the SGR permanently and create cost certainty for the Medicare system over the next 15 years, passed the U.S. House on March 26 with a 392-37 vote.
 
The Senate decided to wait until its recess is over to take up the bipartisan bill. The whistle blows in two weeks on April 13, when the Senate returns to its chamber.
 
Providers already see a two-week lag in submitting electronic claims and receiving payment from Medicare, CMS noted in a recent email. So the Senate could act before the cut affects claims submitted on or after April 1.
 
"CMS will notify you on or before April 11, 2015, with more information about the status of Congressional action to avert the negative update and next steps," the federal Medicare agency noted.