With Time Running Out, Senate to Vote Tonight on Physician Fee Fix

On Monday evening the U.S. Senate will vote on a one-month extension of the Medicare physician fee fix, which expired on April 1 but has been given a 10-day grace period by CMS, according to a report by the Medical Society of the County of Albany (N.Y.).

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When the Congress went on Spring break in late March, the House had passed a one-month extension in H.R. 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, but the bill was blocked in the Senate by Sen. Tom Coburn, MD (R-Okla.), who asserted that its cost must be offset by federal spending reductions.

Democratic supporters argue the bill is an emergency measure that does not require budget offsets, but when the Senate meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, it will have hold a cloture vote to override Dr. Coburn’s action.

Citing the AMA as its source, the medical society stated it is unclear whether the cloture vote will succeed. Meanwhile, the CMS’ 10-day grace period expires on Wednesday, April 14.

The short-term fix in the bill expires at the end of the month, requiring another round of House and Senate actions before that time.

Read the Medical Society of the County of Albany’s report on the physician fee-fix.

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