A 64-35 Senate vote Monday cleared the measure through Congress. The law also delays nationwide implementation of the ICD-10 diagnostic codes until 2015.
The $21 billion bill would stave off a 24% cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors for a year and extend dozens of other expiring healthcare provisions, such as higher payment rates for rural hospitals. The legislation is paid for by cuts to healthcare providers, but fully half of the cuts won't kick in for 10 years.
This patch comes after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on financing a permanent fix. Read the article in Modern Healthcare here.
