DELAY IN UPDATE AND REDUCTION IN PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN THE MEDICARE ECONOMIC INDEX.

SEC. 6107. DELAY IN UPDATE AND REDUCTION IN PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN THE MEDICARE ECONOMIC INDEX. (a) Delaying Updates Until April 1.— (1) In general.—Subject to the amendments made by this section, any increase or adjustment in customary, prevailing, or reasonable charges, fee schedule amounts, maximum allowable actual charges, and other limits on actual charges with respect to physicians’ services and other items and services described in paragraph (2) under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act which would otherwise occur as of January 1, 1990, shall be delayed so as to occur as of April 1, 1990, and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount of payment under such part for such items and services which are furnished during the period beginning on January 1, 1990, and ending on March 31, 1990, shall be determined on the same basis as the amount of payment for such services furnished on December 31, 1989. (2) Items and services covered.—The items and services described in this paragraph are items and services (other than ambulance services and clinical diagnostic laboratory services) for which payment is made under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act on the basis of a reasonable charge or a fee schedule. (3) Extension of participation agreements and related provisions.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law— (A) subject to the last sentence of this paragraph, each participation agreement in effect on December 31, 1989, under section 1842(h)(1) of the Social Security Act shall remain in effect for the 3-month period beginning on January 1, 1990; (B) the effective period for such agreements under such section entered into for 1990 shall be the 9-month period beginning on April 1, 1990, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide an opportunity for physicians and suppliers to enroll as participating physicians and suppliers before April 1, 1990; (C) instead of publishing, under section 1842(h)(4) of the Social Security Act, at the beginning of 1990, directories of participating physicians and suppliers for 1990, the Secretary shall provide for such publication, at the beginning of the 9-month period beginning on April 1, 1990, of such directories of participating physicians and suppliers for such period; and (D) instead of providing to nonparticipating physicians under section 1842(b)(3)(G) of the Social Security Act at the beginning of 1990, a list of maximum allowable actual charges for 1990, the Secretary shall provide, at the beginning of the 9-month period beginning on April 1, 1990, such physicians such a list for such 9-month period. An agreement with a participating physician or supplier described in subparagraph (A) in effect on December 31, 1989, under section 1842(h)(1) of the Social Security Act shall not remain in effect for the period described in subparagraph (A) if the participating physician or supplier requests on or before December 31, 1989, that the agreement be terminated. 103 STAT. 2212 (b) Percentage Increase in MEI for 1990.—Section 1842(b)(4)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(4)(E)) is amended by adding at the end the following new clause: “(iv) For purposes of this part for items and services furnished in 1990, after March 31, 1990, the percentage increase in the MEI is— “(I) 0 percent for radiology services, for anesthesia services, and for other services specified in Table #2 in the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference submitted with the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 3299 (the ‘Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989’), 101st Congress, “(II) 2 percent for other services (other than primary care services), and “(III) such percentage increase in the MEI (as defined in subsection (i)(3)) as would be otherwise determined for primary care services (as defined in subsection (i)(4)).”.