The House ended its "lame duck" session with a budget deal that didn't please most physician groups.
The $1.1 trillion budget bill, which was passed by the House on Thursday and is expected to be passed shortly by the Senate, is lacking any fix to the widely hated sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursement under Medicare. Also missing in action: an extension of the current pay bump for primary care physicians who see Medicaid patients.
Legislative action appears unlikely on the Children's Health Insurance Program during Congress' current lame duck session, despite ongoing pleas from advocates that federal funding for the program be extended as quickly as possible.
“I don't think we expect any movement on this before the end of the year,” said Andrew Wimer, spokesman for Rep. Joe Pitts, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health.
