In the wee hours of the morning, 63 senators voted to end debate on a defense bill containing a 60-day delay of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut to Medicare reimbursements. The vote clears the way for a final Senate vote scheduled for Saturday.
The temporary doc fix will provide a "bridge" to a permanent or longer-term SGR fix. There appear to be two options on the other side of that bridge. Here is what's on the table:
- HR 3961 "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009," approved in the House and now sits in the Senate. The bill replaces the SGR with a Medicare economic index to calculate payments. A similar doc fix bill in the Senate failed this fall.
- HR 3590 "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," is the main health reform bill being debated in the Senate. Section 3101 of the bill contains a 0.5% increase to Medicare payments in 2010.
Most of you probably prefer option 1, but I think 2 is more likely.