Some political strategists think a big Republican victory in the November elections would fulfill physicians' quest for a longer-term fix of the 23 percent reduction in Medicare pay, due to go into effect on Dec. 1, according to a report by the Hill.
If Republicans take over the House, the thinking in Washington goes, they would want to put the costly fee fix on the tab of the outgoing Democratic majority in a lame-duck session rather than waiting until January to pass it and be blamed by voters already infuriated over high government spending.
By the same token, Democrats wouldn't want to wait for a Republican majority to pass the fee fix, because the GOP could then use it as a vehicle to strip down the healthcare reform law. To keep the issue off the table, Capitol Hill observers say lawmakers would want to pass a 13-month fee fix, spanning all of next year, as they done most years in the past. In 2010 there were numerous short-term fixes.
Another reason not to wait until next year: Physicians would be very upset. With a month-long delay, even CMS would be powerless to forestall implementation, as occurred earlier this year. Dozens of physician groups have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) requesting them to "take action during the first week" of the lame-duck session.
Read the Hill report on the Medicare fee fix.
Read more coverage of the fee fix:
- AMA Asks CMS to Postpone 2011 Medicare Fee Rule
- Physician Groups Hint of Exodus from Medicare if Congress Lets Fee Cut Start Again
- AMA Wants New Federal Panel to Propose Permanent Fee Fix to Congress
If Republicans take over the House, the thinking in Washington goes, they would want to put the costly fee fix on the tab of the outgoing Democratic majority in a lame-duck session rather than waiting until January to pass it and be blamed by voters already infuriated over high government spending.
By the same token, Democrats wouldn't want to wait for a Republican majority to pass the fee fix, because the GOP could then use it as a vehicle to strip down the healthcare reform law. To keep the issue off the table, Capitol Hill observers say lawmakers would want to pass a 13-month fee fix, spanning all of next year, as they done most years in the past. In 2010 there were numerous short-term fixes.
Another reason not to wait until next year: Physicians would be very upset. With a month-long delay, even CMS would be powerless to forestall implementation, as occurred earlier this year. Dozens of physician groups have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) requesting them to "take action during the first week" of the lame-duck session.
Read the Hill report on the Medicare fee fix.
Read more coverage of the fee fix:
- AMA Asks CMS to Postpone 2011 Medicare Fee Rule
- Physician Groups Hint of Exodus from Medicare if Congress Lets Fee Cut Start Again
- AMA Wants New Federal Panel to Propose Permanent Fee Fix to Congress