The Senate passed a one-month Medicare physician fee fix, and the House is expected to vote on the measure by Nov. 30, the day before the automatic 23 percent cut would go into effect, according to a report by The Hill.
This one-month patch is less than the 13-month fix the AMA and others asked for. It was developed by both parties' leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who said they would work out a one-year fee fix in December.
The patch, retaining a 2.2 percent update in physician payments, was paid for by cutting payments for certain therapy services, which were supposed to be redistributed to participants in the Medicare physician fee schedule.
Read The Hill's report on the physician fee fix.
Read more coverage on the physician fee fix:
- Berwick Calls for Permanent Fee Fix in First Appearance Before Congress
- Expect Democrats to Pass Very Short-Term Fee Fix, Observers Say
- New Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Includes 10% Increase for Primary Care, General Surgeons in Shortage Areas
This one-month patch is less than the 13-month fix the AMA and others asked for. It was developed by both parties' leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who said they would work out a one-year fee fix in December.
The patch, retaining a 2.2 percent update in physician payments, was paid for by cutting payments for certain therapy services, which were supposed to be redistributed to participants in the Medicare physician fee schedule.
Read The Hill's report on the physician fee fix.
Read more coverage on the physician fee fix:
- Berwick Calls for Permanent Fee Fix in First Appearance Before Congress
- Expect Democrats to Pass Very Short-Term Fee Fix, Observers Say
- New Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Includes 10% Increase for Primary Care, General Surgeons in Shortage Areas