Obama budget makes no assumptions about Medicare sustainable growth rate cuts

April 3, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Obama budget makes no assumptions about Medicare sustainable growth rate cuts By James Brice The $3.5 trillion spending plan passed by the House and Senate April 2 reflects the recent reality of applying the Medicare sustainable growth rate policy on physician fees. It anticipates that Congress will again intervene to stave off the pending 21% cut to physician fees next year and actually estimates that payments will grow by $147.1 billion from 2010 to 2014. The administration's treatment of sustainable growth rate (SGR) comes as good news to the American Medical Association. The AMA has led annual lobbying efforts for each of the past seven years to persuade Congress to delay mandated cuts to the Medicare Physicians Fee Schedule. A negative update was implemented only once, with a 4.8% rate reduction in 2002.

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