Congress gives temporary reprieve from 2007 Medicare pay cut

In the final days of the 2007 Congressional session, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives provided a 6-month reprieve from a scheduled 10.1% cut in Medicare reimbursements for physicians. Instead, physicians were given a 0.5% increase. But unless Congress acts before June 30, the 10.1% reduction will go back into effect as if the reprieve never happened.

The American Medical Association and other groups were thankful for the reprieve but disappointed with the temporary nature of the bill. "We strongly urge Congress to break the tradition of short-term interventions that are not funded and fail to chart a course for replacing a flawed payment formula that is a barrier to improving quality and access to care for seniors," AMA Board of Trustees Chair Edward Langston, MD, told American Medical News (1/7/2008).