Update on Medicare Legislation
As previously reported, on June 6, 2008, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus introduced the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008” (S. 3101). The legislation would block a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare physician payments scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2008 and make numerous other Medicare policy changes. The Senate held a procedural vote on the measure on June 16, 2008, but Senate Democratic leaders failed to muster the 60 votes needed to proceed with consideration of the bill. On June 20, 2008, the House Ways and Means Committee released its proposed amendments to S. 3101. The House could consider this amended version the week of June 23 in an attempt to avert the upcoming physician payment cut.
