Government
Medicare physician pay vote comes up short
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 7, 2008
In their first attempt, Senate Democrats fell short of the number of votes needed to end debate on a Medicare physician payment bill, forcing lawmakers back to the negotiating table.
On June 12, the Senate voted 54-39 in favor of moving to final consideration of the measure, short of the 60 votes needed to end a Republican filibuster. Democrats were unable to convince enough Republicans to back the bill. The legislation, supported by the American Medical Association, would have prevented the 10.6% doctor pay cut from taking place July 1, as well as provided a 1.1% pay raise in 2009. GOP lawmakers supported the physician pay piece but objected to provisions that would slash Medicare private plan payments to help pay for the bill.
The failure to end the debate pushed lawmakers past the June 16 date by which Bush administration officials said they needed a final, approved bill if they were to make a smooth transition to an updated payment schedule. Even if Congress were to act before July 1, some physicians might receive a few Medicare payments at the reduced level until carriers are able to update their systems.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/07/07/gvbf0707.htm.
