The House of Representatives voted 243-183 to approve the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act (HR 3961), which would permanently revamp the Medicare physician payment formula.
In the absence of congressional action, physicians face a 21 percent payment cut in 2010 under the current system.
“Today’s House vote is the first step toward preventing this cut. The AMA urges the Senate to act quickly before the cut begins on Jan. 1,” American Medical Association President J. James Rohack, MD, said in a statement issued soon after the House action.
Earlier this month, the Senate failed to advance a bill averting the physician pay cut.
Combining the House healthcare reform bill with this Medicare physician payment change would raise the deficit by $89 billion over 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released today.
