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House passes bill delaying Medicare physician payment cut for 2 years
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday night that forestalls for 2 years a 27.4% physician payment decrease scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
The bill passed by a vote of 234-193; 224 Republicans and 10 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, according to the House website.
The measure will proceed to the Democratic-controlled Senate for consideration; it is not expected to pass.
The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 also includes an extension of the payroll tax deduction and an energy pipeline project.
The physician payment cut stems in part from the sustainable growth rate (SGR), a key factor in annual Medicare payment updates. Various medical societies have called for the SGR to be changed or eliminated.
"It is our expectation that, in the eleventh hour, congressional Republicans and Democrats will come to an agreement to protect the middle class and finish their budget work for the year," White House officials said in a news release.
In a separate release, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called for bipartisan support of the legislation.
"It is my hope that the president will accept this measure so that Americans can see that we are still capable of working together to the meet the challenges we face," Boehner said.
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Fixing the SGR is delayed for an added two years. So what's new?
Accounting gimmicks have characterized Congressional approaches to budgeting for many years. The SGR is one of the most visible hallmarks of this systematic effort never to solve difficult problems or to deal in honest accounting of program costs. If Congress would reform its approach to paying for its promises, then the SGR would be the first item solved, as it is a clear threat to the unsustainable mandate of Medicare to pay for the healthcare of the elderly and the disabled of the US. Since no one wishes to pay for prior promises, but does wish to make new ones for future elections, the gap will continue to grow between what is promised and what can be paid. Unfortunately, the solution until now has been to delay confronting the inevitable, and to pass on to others the true costs of office holder promises to the electorate.
– Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD
Cardiology
Today Editorial Board member
Disclosure: Dr. Garber is a consultant/advisory board member and on the speakers’ bureau for GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk and Daiichi Sankyo.
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