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Physicians got a brief reprieve from a 27 percent Medicare pay cut as the U.S. House of Representatives reached agreement with the Senate on a two-month extension of important policies that expire on Jan. 1.

AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD, called on Congress to "enact a real and fiscally responsible solution to this sorry cycle of scheduled cuts and short-term patches that compromises access to care for patients and drives up costs for taxpayers. Members of Congress need to use this time to work in a bipartisan manner to provide long-term stability for seniors, military families and the physicians who care for them."

Meantime, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the annual Medicare participation enrollment period through Feb. 14. The previous deadline was Dec. 31.

The effective date for any participation status change during the extension, however, remains Jan. 1, and will be enforced for the entire year. According to CMS, contractors will accept and process any participation elections or withdrawals made during the extended enrollment period that are post-marked on or before Feb. 14.

Stay tuned for further updates and for ways to get involved to end this cycle of short-term Medicare patches.