For the 10th time in 8 years, Congress has blocked a proposed 21% cut in Medicare payments to physicians.
The House voted 417 to 1 today to retroactively reverse the June 1 payment cut for 6 months and increase doctors' payments by 2.2%. The Senate passed the legislation last week, and it now heads to President Obama's desk to be signed into law. The president has said he is "pleased" with the legislation, although he added that "kicking these cuts down the road just isn't an adequate solution to the problem."
Surgeons and other physicians object to the proposed cuts, saying they will force doctors to stop treating Medicare patients or reduce such patients' access to care.
Although the 21% rate cut technically went into effect June 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had delayed processing claims at that time in hopes that Congress would freeze the rate cut for the fourth time since January. The agency had just begun to process those claims before the bill was passed, as lawmakers reached an impasse over concerns about government spending, reports CNN.
Irene Tsikitas
