As pointed out in our prior blogs, it appeared that there was not sufficient time to permanently resolve the Sustainable Growth Rate (“SGR”) issue.  To the consternation of the AMA, it now appears that both Houses will defer resolution.  However, it appears that the House version will not be a clean bill but will also include a provision that delays not just the SGR, but delays the implementation of the ICD-10 also.  It is now Monday, March 31^st, which does not provide a significant amount of time for the Senate to approve a different version of the House bill and then reconcile both versions to defer the implementation of the SGR for the year.  No one has provided an acceptable offset to the 180 billon dollar cost of the SGR solution.

It has been said that the deferral will be effective so long as both Houses pass a bill and provide it to the President by April 4, 2014.

Obviously, deferring the solution to the SGR problem until 2015, after the elections, is a political move.  A cynic might look at this as an opportunity for Congressional candidates to encourage donations to their campaigns by various parties that may be affected by the SGR and/or by a solution to the SGR.  For instance, it would behoove doctors to continue to contribute to the campaigns of various Congressional candidates in favor of resolving the SGR as it will behoove other parties, such as pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, to contribute to the campaigns of various congressional candidates, so that payment for the solution to the SGR, will not come by reducing the payments being made to either of those categories of business.  However, that is just a cynic’s view of how Washington operates.