Â鶹ŮÓÅ

The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved sweeping changes in the way Medicare pays doctors, clearing the bill for President Obama and resolving an issue that has bedeviled Congress and the Medicare program for more than a decade. (Pear, 4/14)

The unusually bipartisan bill, which passed the House easily last month, will immediately lift the threat of an automatic 21% cut in Medicare fees to physicians, which was set to take effect Wednesday. The legislation also marks a milestone in the push to modernize Medicare, the nation’s mammoth federal insurance program for the elderly, and move it away from the traditional system of paying physicians for every procedure they perform. The bill passed with an overwhelming majority, 92 to 8. (Levey, 4/14)

President Barack Obama has said he would sign the measure into law. Under the legislation, doctors would receive a 0.5% pay increase starting in July, with additional 0.5% annual pay raises through 2019, before the government starts giving new incentives to doctors to adopt alternative payment models instead of participating in the traditional fee-for-service program. (Hughes, 4/14)

The legislation repeals the old Medicare payment formula, called the Sustainable Growth Rate, and replaces it with a new one. It also funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program and community health centers for two more years. It will be paid for by having high-income seniors cover more of their Medicare costs and by requiring basic co-payments in Medigap plans. (Haberkorn, 4/14)

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., one of three GOP senators who have announced that they are running for president, voted to approve the bill. The other two presidential hopefuls, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, voted against it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill would "ensure seniors on Medicare don't lose access to their doctors." Many doctors would have been reluctant to accept Medicare patients if the federal payments to physicians had dropped 21%, the bill's supporters said. (Kelly, 4/14)

Despite the last-minute nature of the vote, it was lauded by Hill leaders as a bipartisan triumph for both removing a yearly headache from the legislative calendar but also by implementing modest reforms to Medicare, including future incentives for doctors to deliver better care as well as premium hikes for the wealthiest Medicare recipients. ... The "doc fix" has been necessitated by a 1997 legislative provision known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, which mandated that Medicare fees could not exceed the growth in the overall U.S. economy. But as actual health-care costs have far outstripped the fee hikes allowed by the 1997 legislation, Congress has been forced to step in on a yearly basis to reset the rates or risk the possibility that many health-care providers would stop treating Medicare recipients. (DeBonis, 4/14)

Conservatives hated that it's expected to swell federal deficits over the coming decade. Liberals complained that it shortchanged health programs for children and women. But after years of complaints and failed efforts, huge majorities of both parties in Congress finally banded together and there was no stopping the "doc fix." (Fram, 4/15)

The measure, drafted last month by Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, appeared to be the first major legislative accomplishment of the 2015-2016 Congress, suggesting some progress toward easing years of gridlock on Capitol Hill. (Cornwell, 4/14)

The nearly three-hour voting period began shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, just before a key deadline that would have triggered double-digit cuts to Medicare doctors. The final votes were cast just before 10 p.m. Attempts to schedule a vote had been slowed to a halt by the half-dozen amendments floated by both parties. (Sullivan and Ferris, 4/14)

The bill's passage brought statements of praise from both President Obama and Republican congressional leaders. "It's a milestone for physicians, and for the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health care needs," Obama said in a statement before later adding "I will be proud to sign it into law." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said approval of the bill was "another reminder of a new Republican Congress that's back to work. And while no bill will ever be perfect, this legislation is a sensible compromise with wide bipartisan support; we look forward to the President following through on his commitment to sign it." House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who crafted the compromise bill with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the reform's passage "a big deal." (4/15)

Medicare’s troubled physician payment formula will soon be history. As expected, the Senate Tuesday night easily passed legislation to scrap the formula, accepting a bipartisan plan muscled through the House last month by Speaker John Boehner and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The Senate vote came just hours before doctors faced a 21 percent Medicare pay cut. (Carey, updated 4/14)