One Step Closer to a Fix?

The house of representatives, today, passed HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. This bill, Authored by Reps. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and John Dingell (D-MI), mimics Sen. Baucus' (D-MT) bill. It proposes to eliminate the cut scheduled for July 1, increase payments by 1.1% for 2009, give Congress 18 months to conjure a long-term fix for the inherently flawed SGR financing formula, provide incentives for using e-prescribing, and extend the Geographical Practice Cost Index.

Now we wait for the Senate's next move. Both the House and the Senate will need to work together to put something before the President that will not be vetoed before Monday of next week (June 30). As always, stay tuned for more updates as they come along.