Bill aimed at eliminating proposed physician payment cut stalls in Senate

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

Bill aimed at eliminating proposed physician payment cut stalls in Senate.

Source: The American College of Emergency Physicians ( http://www.acep.org )
Date: June 13, 2008


In continuing coverage from previous editions of Emergency Medicine Today, the Wall Street Journal (6/13, A12, Mathews) reports that a "bill aimed at preventing a 10.6 percent cut in the Medicare fees paid to doctors fell short of the votes needed to move forward in the Senate, sending the issue back for further negotiation between Republicans and Democrats." According to the Journal, this may result in "a more narrowly crafted bill than the one introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), which won little Republican support, and drew a veto threat from the White House." 

The Senate "voted 54-39, short of the 60 votes required to limit debate on the proposed legislation," Bloomberg (6/13, Marcus) adds. The legislation aims to "reduce fees paid to private insurers that provide Medicare benefits, largely by cutting money related to the cost of treating patients at teaching hospitals." Many "Democrats say insurers in the Medicare Advantage program are paid too much, collecting 13 percent more on average than Medicare spends to provide benefits directly." Furthermore, several members of Congress "are seeking ways to avert the cut in Medicare payments to doctors, required under a decade-old formula enacted to hold down spending." 

According to Sen. Baucus, "Time is running short. We need to complete a bill by June 30," the AP (6/13, Freking) notes. He also said, "By far, the best option for getting a Medicare bill done this year is" this bill. In addition to preventing the proposed 10.6 percent cut in physician payments, the legislation sought to do "away with the exclusion of barbiturates and bendodiazepines from the Medicare drug benefit," reduce "the co-payments that Medicare participants pay when they get treatment for depression and other mental health problems," provide "older people an incentive to visit a doctor during their entry into Medicare by waiving the deductible," and lower "payments to oxygen providers and suppliers of power wheelchairs." 

Meanwhile, The Hill (6/13, Young) reports that "Democrats held the vote despite a looming veto threat and little chance of winning over enough Republicans to succeed, prompting criticism from Republicans who described the debate as mere political theater." The Republicans argued that Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) "alternative bill would use the same mechanism to address physician payments," but it "does not face a veto threat as Baucus's does, and takes far less money from Medicare Advantage." 

Still, some lawmakers said that they intend bring up the matter again soon, Modern Healthcare (6/12, Lubell) added. Notably, Sen. Grassley expressed hopes that "the failed bill would lead to more effective negotiations." Reuters (6/13) and Congressional Quarterly (6/13, Wayne) also cover the story.

Abid Mogannam &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine

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