The House Appropriations Committee tucked in a Department of Defense appropriations bill a two-month, zero percent update to the conversion factor used to calculate Medicare payments. This means the 2009 conversion factor of $36.0666 won't be subject to a 21.29% cut until March 1, 2010 -- providing a "bridge," buying federal lawmakers another 60 days, to finding a more permanent solution to a flawed Medicare payment formula.
The House is scheduled to vote on the defense bill today (you can read the pay-fix section on page 159 on the pdf).* A summary of the bill says it "Delays, through February 28, 2010, a scheduled 21.2% cut in Medicare physician payments. The delay is fully offset."
I'm watching CSPAN right now and representatives are debating the bill. Democrats want to pass it, but Republicans are objecting to the number of earmarks in the spending plan. I haven't heard a specific objection to the temporary doc fix.
* Update: The defense appropriations bill was approved in the House. The bill will move on to the Senate.