Yesterday, the House of Representatives “overwhelmingly” passed a bill that would stop a 10.6 percent Medicare physicians pay cut, which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. (Associated Press)
The House passed the measure by a vote of 355-59, despite a potential presidential veto. Democrats want to fund the delayed cut by decreasing funding to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, and President Bush has threatened to veto any bill that cuts funding to MAs.
In any case, the House-passed bill can’t move forward unless and until the Senate passes its version of the bill. Earlier this month, Democrats in the Senate failed to garner the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and begin debate on its version of the bill.
The battle continues.
