"Doc fix" remains broken

Thirteen Democrats joined all 40 Republicans to block a permanent repeal of Medicare's payment formula for doctors, with lawmakers concluding the legislation's $247 billion 10-year price tag was too steep in an era of record deficits.

The so-called "doc fix" is a near-annual ritual in Congress aimed at preventing physicians from turning away Medicare patients because they are paid too little for the visits. A 1997 deficit-reduction law established federal spending targets that were linked to economic growth, but when medical costs continued to rise at a faster pace, the net effect was to require a huge yearly cut to doctor reimbursement rates. As of Jan. 1, 2010, doctors are scheduled for another 21 percent decrease.

SOURCE: Washington Post