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AAFP Applauds House Passage of Bill to Fix Broken Payment Formula (11/20/2009)  -- The AAFP has hailed House passage of a bill that would provide a permanent fix for the sustainable growth rate, or SGR formula, as a victory for both Medicare patients and their physicians.

CMS Announces Extension of 2010 Medicare Provider Enrollment Period -- CMS has extended Medicare's 2010 provider participation enrollment end date to Jan. 31, 2010. This gives physicians currently participating in Medicare or considering participation in 2010 one month beyond the normal Dec. 31 cutoff to make a participation decision.

USPSTF Makes Sweeping Changes to Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations Task Force No Longer Recommends Routine Mammograms in Women Ages 40-49  -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, has updated its recommendations for breast cancer screening with some significant changes, including a recommendation against routine screening mammography for women ages 40-49 who aren't at increased risk for breast cancer.

Recent Decline in U.S. Smoking Prevalence Stalls Smoking Rates Vary Widely by Race, Ethnicity, Education  -- The United States likely will fall well short of the Healthy People 2010 objective of reducing to less than 12 percent the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults. According to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, or MMWR, article released Nov. 13, the proportion of U.S. adults who were cigarette smokers declined from 24.1 percent in 1998 to 19.8 percent in 2007. However, the figure increased to 20.6 percent in 2008.