October 22, 2009 - The Senate vote yesterday to permanently repeal Medicare's “flawed” Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, in a Motion to Proceed to S. 1776, failed to garner enough support in the Senate yesterday.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) backed the bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the update under the Medicare physician fee schedule for years beginning with 2010 and to sunset the application of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
The vote failed, 47 to 53, ending further debate of this specific legislation. The $245 billion bill would have repealed the the payment formula that results in annual cuts for physicians. The American College of Radiology (ACR) earlier this week had urged the medical community to support the repeal, alongside the American Medical Assocition (AMA) and AARP, by calling their senators to support S. 1776.
ACR believes that regardless of today’s vote, Congress will act before year’s end to prevent the 2010 scheduled 21% Medicare payment cut to all physicians.
For more information: www.acr.org