Check this space often for an increasing menu of educational resources, all selected to help keep you current on the latest trends, rules and regulations.

December 19, 2007

House approves Medicare bill; presidential signature seems assured, insiders say

The House of Representatives passed a bill reversing the 2008 10.1% physician pay cut and extending SCHIP with a sweeping majority Wednesday. The bill, which passed in the House 411 to 3, will now go to President Bush who must sign the legislation before it goes into law.

The Senate passed the bill last night, and sent it on to the House today, where it was debated as one of the last orders of business before the holiday recess. The bill will replace the 10.1% cut with a 0.5% increase in physician payments next year. SCHIP, the state children’s health insurance program, will be extended until early 2009.
The president is expected to sign the new legislation, according to sources on the Hill. The bill, authored by mostly Republican senators, is said to be compatible with the president’s goals for the legislation, and will score points for Republican presidential candidates next year by keeping SCHIP off the table until after the elections.

The bill will protect doctors from Medicare cuts until the end of June, when congress will have to act again to ward off the cut. Democratic congressmen said Republican blocked their efforts to pass broader Medicare reforms and view the six month band-aid as a concession.

Source:  Part B News, December 19, 2007
* * *