House Votes To Fix Medicare Physician Payment Formula

November 20, 2009 7:12 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The House voted late Thursday to avert a scheduled annual cut to Medicare payments to doctors, passing a bill that was championed by Democrats and advocacy groups, but opposed by Republicans who said the measure was fiscally irresponsible. Passage comes a month after the Senate failed to approve a similar measure.

The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act or H.R. 3961 passed by a vote of 243-183. All except 11 opposing votes were Republican. Authored mainly by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (D-MI), the measure costs $210 billion.

The bill blocks a 21 percent reduction in Medicare and TRICARE payments due to take effect on January 1, and a cumulative 40 percent cut over the next six years. It permanently replaces the broken payment formula that began with the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with a more stable system.

Congress has adopted yearly fixes since 2002 to avoid the cuts, an approach the American Medical Association and AARP, the nation's largest advocacy group for seniors, have repeatedly warned endangered seniors' access to healthcare.

"This legislation will permanently improve the way Medicare pays physicians and in doing so, guarantee that America's seniors will continue to have access to excellent care through Medicare," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement.

And President Barack Obama in a statement praised the House for "taking action to protect the care and physician choice that Medicare beneficiaries and TRICARE patients have earned."

But Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said the bill would add nearly $300 billion to the deficit. "This irresponsible 'doc fix' proves once again that out-of-touch Washington Democrats simply cannot help themselves when it comes to piling debt on our kids and grandkids," he said.

The AARP, AMA and the Military Officers Association of America all endorsed the measure, saying the bill's proposed physician reimbursement system "reflects how care actually happens."

Before it is signed into law, the bill still needs to be approved by the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrower majority.

"While this legislation is purportedly a 'doc fix,' it is really a 'doc trick,'" Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) said in a floor speech. "It's also politically disingenuous since leading House Democrats know that the bill doesn't have a prayer of passing in the Senate, and has in fact been rejected repeatedly in the Senate for the same reasons I am forced to vote against it."

The Senate voted in October on a similar measure authored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), but Democrats in that chamber failed to unite in passing the bill. The main issue was the cost of the measure, $247 billion over the next 10 years, that lawmakers such as Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) had argued should be paid for and should be part of the larger healthcare reform bill in Congress.

The AMA on Thursday urged the Senate to "act quickly" before the cut begins next year.

"Congress needs to fulfill its current commitments as it considers expanding its obligations," the group added. "Physicians must be assured of stable payments so they can continue to care for seniors, baby boomers and military families."