Despite threats of a presidential veto, the House resoundingly passed a bill Tuesday blocking a 10% cut in Medicare’s reimbursement payments to physicians. In addition to protection against the cut, which was scheduled to take effect July 1, the bill will increase payments to physicians by 1.1% over the next year.
The increase in compensation would be funded by reducing federal subsidies of private Medicare Advantage plans, a plan that the administration criticizes for reducing access and benefits for the nation’s aging population. Irrespective of the administration’s position, the bill garnered unusually strong bipartisan support in the House.
Assuming the bill passes in the Senate, the House's June 24 decision could effectively block this round of CMS reimbursement cuts, but the issue will soon resurface. Current law schedules another 10% reduction in payments for January 1.
UPDATE
The bill failed in the Senate, meaning that the scheduled 10% payment cut will in fact go forward. Congressional recess for the 4th of July holiday begins this week, and when lawmakers return from the break, it is possible they could retroactively increase the payments. Medicare will not process claims for the first 10 days of the month, which would give Congress time to make changes.
