The Bush administration does have current authority to remove the drugs from the formula, Bruce Steinwald, GAO's director for health care, economic and payment issues, recently testified at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee.
Further, Mark McClellan, M.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently told reporters that his agency is working with the AMA to identify administrative actions to prevent the cuts.
At the least, Dr. McClellan's response “indicates that the payment issue is sharply on his radar screen,” Paul Speidell, government affairs representative, Medical Group Management Association, told this newspaper.