Senate votes down bill to delay Medicare cut, House has bill in the works

In a quick action to prevent a 10.6-percent cut in Medicare physician payments scheduled to go into effect July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Resolution 6331, the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.”

The resolution, introduced by Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel, D-NY, and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell, D-MI, would avert the cut and extend the current 0.5-percent update through the end of the year, also providing for a 1.1-percent update for 2009. See the vote tally below.

HR 6331 closely resembles a Senate bill by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., which failed to muster enough support last week to begin discussion. Senate Republicans objected to the Baucus bill because it would have provided a small increase to physician payments by decreasing federal payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Because HR 6331 would also decrease funding to the plans, the fate of the House bill is uncertain.

In a prepared statement released after the blocked Senate legislation, AAFP President Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., warned that a payment cut could throw patients into confusion and doctors into financial uncertainty. “We urge both Republicans and Democrats to immediately negotiate compromise legislation that meets the needs of both patients and the physicians who care for them,” he said in the statement. “Only by acting quickly can Congress and the Administration ensure the stability of a health care program on which millions of elderly and disabled patients depend.”

Multiple sources say a compromise is in the works, but time is running out. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, also introduced a bill similar to the Baucus bill, which would provide an 18-month payment update and maintain current payment levels for the remainder of the year with a 1.1-percent increase in 2009. Instead of decreasing payments to Medicare Advantage plants, Grassley’s proposal would lower the cost of the payment update by leaving out provisions to assist lower-income Medicare patients.

AAFP and the AMA encourage physicians to maintain grassroots pressure to encourage legislators to meet a compromise. Go to AAFP’s Speak Out for more information on how you can get involved.

Related links:
Read statements from AAFP President Jim King, M.D.: Failure to Bring Medicare Bill to Senate Floor is a ‘Serious Blow’ and Medicare Legislation Helps Avert Potentially Devastating Pay Cut.

Final vote results for HR 6331—Texas delegation
June 24, 2008

Yeas

Rep. Ted Poe
Rep. Ralph Hall
Rep. Al Green
Rep. Michael McCaul
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa
Rep. Chet Edwards
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Rep. Charles Gonzalez
Rep. Lamar Smith
Rep. Nicholas Lampson
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
Rep. Michael Burgess
Rep. Solomon Ortiz
Rep. Henry Cuellar
Rep. Gene Green
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Nays

Rep. Joe Barton
Rep. Kevin Brady
Rep. John Carter
Rep. Mike Conaway
Rep. John Culberson
Rep. Kay Granger
Rep. Jeb Hensarling
Rep. Sam Johnson
Rep. Kenny Marchant
Rep. Randy Neugebauer
Rep. Ron Paul
Rep. Pete Sessions
Rep. William Thornberry

Not voting

Rep. Louie Gohmert
Rep. Silvestre Reyes