WASHINGTON – Congress used special methods late in December to approve a bill that would defer a 10.1 percent Medicare payment cut for physicians that was scheduled to take effect January 1.
The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, unanimously approved by the Senate and approved by two-thirds of the House, would replace the scheduled cut to the Medicare physician reimbursement rate in 2008 with a one-half percent increase through June 30.
The bill includes several other extensions for physician payments and fully funds an extension of the State Children's Health Insurance Program at what the Senate Finance Committee said was "a level sufficient to avoid state shortfalls and retain coverage for all currently insured children through March 31, 2009."
The bill is expected to cost approximately $6 billion and is designed to be budget-neutral, according to the Senate Finance Committee. A staffer for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said Congress would not have passed the bill if they didn't hope to gain the President's approval for it. President Bush vetoed two other bills to refund SCHIP this year.
The new bill would provide a one-year extension of the Special Diabetes Programs for Type 1 and Native Americans at the current funding level through Sept. 30, 2008. It also provides incentives for physicians to practice in areas with few doctors, pays for pathology services, funds lab tests in rural areas and includes several other hospital and physician payment provisions.
Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Congress must "move boldly" early next year to make the fixes permanent and "change Medicare in a smart and fiscally responsible way."
Edward Langston, MD, board chairman of the American Medical Association, said his group is pleased to have some relief but is looking for a permanent and more substantial fix.
"We strongly urge Congress to break the tradition of short-term interventions that are not fully funded and fail to chart a course for replacing a flawed payment formula that is a barrier to improving quality and access to care for seniors," he said.
Langston applauded Congress for taking action to renew SCHIP. "Continuation of this important program is critical to ensuring that all America's children have access to needed healthcare services," Langston said. "During this holiday season, the renewal of SCHIP is a true gift to families in need."
Earlier this year, Congress tried to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would have increased funding for the SCHIP program by $35 billion over the next five years. That bill would have provided funding sufficient enough to cover all 6.6 million children currently enrolled and to expand coverage for an additional 3.3 million low-income children.