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UPDATE: The House of Representatives passed the payroll tax extension/SGR fix bill Feb. 17 by a vote of 293-132. The bill now moves on to the Senate.

After weeks of debate, congressional negotiators at press time were poised to grant a 10-month reprieve from the looming 27% cut in Medicare physician fees called for by the Sustainable Growth Rate formula.

The House/Senate conference committee tasked to solve that problem – while finding a way to extend the payroll tax holiday and benefits for the long-term unemployed – reached an agreement in the wee hours of Feb. 16. Their compromise would hold Medicare fees steady through the end of 2012.

Officials at the American Medical Association expressed both relief and disappointment with the deal.

"Congress had an opportunity to permanently end this problem, which is the sound, fiscally prudent policy choice," Dr. Peter W. Carmel, AMA president, said in a statement. "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."

The short-term SGR fix does not come as a surprise, however. At the AMA National Advocacy Conference this week, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) warned physicians that negotiators would not agree to repeal the SGR. He added that negotiators were wrestling between a 2-year and a 10-month update.

At press time, the compromise was not official and full details had not been reported.

Both houses of Congress were expected to vote on the measure before taking a weeklong recess for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

02/17/12