More details on the Pending Legislation to avert the cut in Physician’s pay. The key issue here is how to fund this. The House Bill (which passed overwhelmingly), would be devastating to Medicare Advantage funding (in particular, to PFFS plans), while the Grassley-Baucus Compromise would less destructive.
Here is the complete text on the Capitol Hill Watch article.
Senate Majority Leader Reid Seeks Vote on House Medicare Package Before July 4 Recess
CQ Today reports that “it is unclear when the Senate might be able to turn to the Medicare legislation” if Republicans do not agree to a vote on the House bill (Armstrong, CQ Today, 6/25). The House measure includes payment reductions to so-called fee-for-service Medicare Advantage plans, which the Bush administration opposes and caused many Republicans to vote against a similar measure (S 3101) proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.).
Baucus on Wednesday said he supports the House-approved Medicare bill, despite a compromise bill he was developing with Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Reid on Wednesday said that the only Medicare measure senators might get to vote on before the recess is the House-approved bill. Grassley said he is uncertain whether the compromise measure he and Baucus worked out would be voted on if the House bill does not pass the Senate. Barring opposition from Republicans, the Senate could hold a vote on the House measure on Thursday or Friday, according to CongressDaily (Edney, CongressDaily, 6/26).
If the Senate does not approve the House bill, Congress could take up the issue again after the recess and pass legislation that retroactively restores the physician fee cut. However, such a move “could create headaches” for CMS officials and could disrupt payments to physicians, according to CQ Today (CQ Today, 6/25).
