The United States Senate on Nov. 18 approved a 1-month extension of current Medicare physician fee rates, moving Congress one step closer to avoiding the statutory 23% reduction that is due to go into effect Dec. 1.
The Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010 was introduced in the Senate by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking minority member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). It was originally introduced in the House in July by Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and was agreed to by voice vote that month. But the Senate amended the bill Nov. 18, which means it has to go back to the House for approval.
The American College of Physicians expects the House, which has gone out on recess for the Thanksgiving holiday, to take up the bill Nov. 29 or 30, according to a spokesman for the physician organization.
The estimated cost for the 1-month extension: $1 billion over 10 years. The Senate would pay for that by using savings from a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy that reduces Medicare payments for multiple therapy services provided to patients in 1 day. Therapists would not be squeezed, however; the proposal would also shrink the called-for reduction from 25% to 20%, according to Sens. Baucus and Grassley.
"Seniors and military families can rest assured that they will continue to have access to the doctors, treatments, and medications they need," said Sen. Baucus in a statement. "Once signed into law by the president, it will mean that seniors and military families are spared the threat of a lapse in care. The next step is moving on to finding a yearlong extension before this fix runs out."