Health Care Reform Update: Senate Likely to Pass Legislation by December 24; Will Conference with House in Early January

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) succeeded, after much negotiation and compromising, to garner the 60 votes of his Democratic colleagues for the first of three cloture votes needed to pass health care reform legislation before adjourning for the year. While some positive changes were made, many issues raised by physicians have gone unresolved.

Senator Reid’s manager amendment to health care reform legislation was released on December 19, once he had secured commitments from all 60 Senators on the content. A few concessions for specialty physicians were included among the provisions such as ensuring that the bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons will not be offset by cuts to other physicians; elimination of the proposed tax on elective cosmetic surgery; and elimination of the enrollment fee for physicians who participate in Medicare and Medicaid.

Also eliminated from the package was the proposed one-year, 0.5 percent patch to Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that calls for a 21.2 percent cut in 2010. A provision added to the Department of Defense appropriations bill passed last week averts the cut on January 1, 2010 by extending the 2009 conversion factor for 60 days. This will give Senator Reid time to act on his statement of intent to pass legislation to permanently repeal the SGR formula after the holidays, a promise he made to the American Medical Association in exchange for their public support of the Senate health care reform legislation. Read more on the Society’s concerns with the Senate package »