Senate repeals IRS 1099 physician reporting requirements
The Senate has passed legislation that would repeal a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires small businesses, including physicians, to file an IRS form 1099 for each vendor purchase of $600 or more.
The provision, introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), was passed the Senate on February 2 with bipartisan support. Stabenow is now urging the House to pass its version of the provision, which also has wide support.
"Rather than focusing on issues that divide us, this is an issue that we can all come together on," she said.
"If left unchecked, 40 million small businesses would see their IRS 1099 paperwork increase 2000 percent," she added.
[Physicians are already over-loaded with administrative burdens, according to a new survey. Read more here.]
The American Medical Association has been pushing for elimination of the 1099 requirement.
"The AMA applauds the Senate’s vote in support of the Stabenow amendment to repeal the unnecessary and burdensome IRS 1099 reporting requirement that was included as part of the health reform law," said AMA President Cecil Wilson, MD. "It is estimated that paperwork already takes up as much as a third of a physician’s workday – time that could be better spent with patients – and this provision would only increase that burden."
"As the nation’s largest physician organization, the AMA will continue working during the implementation phase of the health reform law to ensure the best outcomes for patients and physicians by advocating for improvements including expanded medical liability reforms and major changes in the IPAB framework," Wilson said.
In his State of the Union Address on January 25, President Barack Obama gave the nod for eliminating the 1099 provision found in the healthcare reform law.
"If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you," he told Congress. "We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses."
[Is the Senate's passage of this provision a sign that bipartisan healthcare reform tweaks are on the horizon? See what one expert says.]
