As an indication of the incredible functionality of the lame duck Congress, lawmakers managed to leave for yet another vacation without extending the moratorium on the SGRrrr. What should we have expected? Actually, the Senate last night approved a 31-day extension – that’s right, a whole month, with the idea that they will come back after Thanksgiving and attempt to add an additional year of moratorium. This would get the moratorium extension to extend through January 2012. The House, however, was awfully tired after a week of work and needed to get some shopping done before the holiday, decided to recess without acting on their side. The comment was that when they get back after the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 29, they have a whole day to get this done before the cuts kick in Dec. 1. Plenty of time. This duck doesn’t seem to fly.

ACC Prez Ralph Brindis got some great air time in the papers on this topic yesterday in Inside Health Policy. He said:

“Give our patients something to be thankful for.... The looming threat of a 23-percent cut can’t become reality to the millions of Americans fighting heart disease nor to the thousands of cardiologists treating them.”

 “The ACC will continue to push for meaning payment reforms that repeal the SGR and put into place innovative solutions that reward quality care and patient-centered outcomes. Until then, Congress must act quickly to stop these devastating cuts from taking effect on Dec. 1.”

< Back to Listings