The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, by a 395 to 34 vote. The appropriations bill has an added measure which delays a scheduled 21.2 percent reduction in Medicare's 2010 physician payments through February 28, 2010.

In November, the House passed H.R. 3961--the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009. H.R. 3961 would repeal the current Medicare physician payment formula--the sustainable growth rate (SGR)--and replace it with a new framework. (See DM 10802).

The measure in the current defense appropriations bill is seen as a temporary solution until a more permanent resolution can be negotiated. The Senate must now vote on the defense appropriations bill and approve the measure, Section 1011 of Division B in the bill. The vote is likely to take place this week.

The SGR formula, which replaced the volume performance standard in 1998, was to control spending for physicians' services and "incident to" items provided under Part B of Medicare. In the last several years, spending per beneficiary, measured by the SGR, has been above the targets established by the formula, which means payment rates for physicians' services would be substantially reduced. Since 2002 Congress has continually passed a series of bills to override the payment reductions.

After the vote, the American Medical Association quickly issued a statement of support from Dr. J. James Rohack, M.D., AMA president: "Ensuring continued access to physician care for America's seniors is critically important, which is why Congress must fix the broken Medicare physician payment formula once and for all. The AMA acknowledges today's vote in the House to temporarily suspend, for two months, the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut that begins in three weeks, as this will allow physicians to continue to care for Medicare patients while waiting for the Senate to vote on a permanent solution. The House has already passed H.R. 3961, which will replace the broken Medicare physician payment formula with a system that better reflects the cost of providing 21st century medical care - and we urge the Senate to quickly take similar action so the President can sign it into law early next year."

In an AMA letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and co-signed by dozens of medical organizations, Reid is urged to establish permanent repeal of the SGR, as the 21 percent cut in 2010 "inarguably will compromise access to care for Medicare patients and for military families whose TRICARE coverage is based on Medicare rates."

Read more the AMA Statement and letter: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/house-medicare-cuts.shtml

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