Passage of Changes to Medicare Doctor Payments Unlikely
"The outlook looks increasingly bleak" this year for passage of legislation to reverse a 5.1% reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements scheduled to take effect in January 2007, CongressDaily reports.
According to CongressDaily, congressional leadership elections prevented consideration of such legislation this week, and, "as the time to pass a bill grows short, Republicans are lowering their sights to consider short-term options, such as a six-month suspension of the cuts."
A spokesperson for House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) said, "The reality is until the leadership elections are settled and out of the way, no (physician payment) solution is going to take place" (Lee, CongressDaily, 11/16).