House Leaders Looking for Deal to Halt Medicare Payment Cuts
Aides to top House Republicans and Democrats are hoping to negotiate a bipartisan compromise to permanently revamp a law that annually threatens cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, including a 21 percent reduction set to take effect April 1. As part of the talks, bargainers are considering budget cuts that would offset part, but not all, of the measure’s costs, according to lobbyists following the negotiations. The estimated 10-year price of repealing the annual Medicare cuts is roughly $175 billion….Congressional aides confirmed that talks are underway but declined to provide detail….At issue is a formula, known as the sustainable growth rate, from a law that since 1997 has tried curbing spending on doctor’s reimbursements under Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly. Read More…