Legislators reached a tentative agreement on a payroll tax holiday bill that averts a 27.4% cut in Medicare physician payment rates and extends current rates until the end of 2012, Modern Healthcare reported.
 
The deal also extends certain Medicare programs—such as ambulance add-on payments and outpatient hospital hold-harmless payments—but requires that the CMS, Government Accountability Office and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report to Congress on the effectiveness of those programs.

 “The House and Senate conference committee agreement averts a 27% cut on March 1, but it represents a serious missed opportunity to permanently replace the flawed Medicare physician payment formula and protect access to care for military families and seniors,” American Medical Association President Peter W. Carmel, MD, in a statement. “People outside of Washington question the logic of spending nearly $20 billion to postpone one cut for a higher cut next year, while increasing the cost of a permanent solution by about another $25 billion.

“Congress had an opportunity to permanently end this problem, which is the sound, fiscally prudent policy choice, said Carmel. “We appreciate efforts by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who publicly supported a framework for a permanent end to this perennial problem. We are deeply disappointed that Congress chose to just do another patch – kicking the can, growing the problem and missing a clear opportunity to protect access to care for patients. Shortly after the coming elections, access to care for seniors and military will again be threatened by an even larger cut, and members of Congress will need to take swift action to end the broken formula.”