EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/78721
Two-month tax-extenders package that prevents 27.4% reduction in Medicare physician payments signed into law P resident Obama signed a 2-month bill into law in December that extends the payroll tax cut, unem- ployment benefits, and prevents the 27.4% cut in Medicare physician payments for 60 days. The House and Senate unanimously passed the bill (H.R. 3765) earlier. As part of the deal, the House and Senate agreed to appoint a confer- ence committee to begin negotia- tions in January on a longer-term extension. As a result of the 2-month re- prieve, the 27.4% reduction to the Conversion Factor (CF) did not go into effect on January 1, 2012, and the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) floor will not be changed for 60 days. However, the remainder of the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including the Relative Value Units (RVUs), went into effect as scheduled on January 1, 2012. As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implements the 2012 changes to the fee schedule, the current CF will be increased by the budget neutrality factor from the final rule (0.18%). Therefore, the CF will be $34.0376, effective January 1, 2012, for 60 days, a slight increase to the 2011 CF of $33.9764. "ASCRS will continue to advo- cate for a permanent solution to the flawed Medicare physician payment system," said ASCRS Director of Government Relations Nancey McCann, who can be reached at nmccann@ascrs.org. EW STOP DRY EYE FAST! A SURGICAL SYSTEM THAT WORKS. Cornea Probe Blockage Meibomian Gland Interior The Problem Is Simple: An Occluded Meibomian Gland. Pop Through Gland Blockages With A Maskin® Probe! "I went down to Florida to observe Dr. Maskin do several procedures and then went back to Tennessee to do my own! I have done MGP on 6 patients now. All of them are better, and patients state improvement was almost immediate. Patients admit to between a 60% and 100% improvement in their symptoms. I'm ready to do more cases!" Daniel K. Bregman, MD Nashville, TN Animation Surgery 3360 Scherer Drive, Suite B, St. Petersburg, Fl 33716 7HO )D[ (PDLO ,QIR#5KHLQPHGLFDO &RP :HEVLWH :ZZ 5KHLQPHGLFDO &RP 'HYHORSHG ,Q &RRUGLQDWLRQ :LWK 6WHYHQ / 0DVNLQ 0 ' Pct/Us08/083318, Intraductal Meibomian Gland Probing Relieves Symptoms Of Obstructive Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, 1317 Rev.A Maskin, Steven L, Cornea. 29(10):1145-1152, October 2010. 6W\OL]HG (\H 5KHLQ 0HGLFDO ACBB