The odds that Congress will pass a pending bill on healthcare IT or vote to block scheduled Medicare cuts on physician reimbursement before it recesses at the end of the week appear slim. In the few days Congress will remain in session, Republican legislators will be focusing on such high-profile issues as immigration, military spending, and homeland security, reports The Washington Post. After the elections, some pending legislation may be finished during a six-week lame-duck session in November. But observers say that Democrats are likely to stall Republican measures if the GOP keeps control of Congress. And if the Democrats win a majority in either house, they are expected to delay legislation until next year when they assume control. Although the American Medical Association has intensely lobbied Congress to roll back physician pay cuts--a strategy that has worked each year since 2003--its chances of success this year are “considerably less,” admits Cecil B. Wilson, chairman of the AMA. “The frustration is that Congress knows what the problem is,” Wilson told the Post.
