Correction: The Senate vote was on Friday, June 18, 2010. We regret the error.

It’s about damned time.

Today the U.S. Senate passed the “doc fix” bill, which would, instead of cutting pay 21%, will give them 2.2% increase in pay. The full Medpage Today story says that this increase quotes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as saying this increase is “fully paid for.”

However, the House of Representatives is not in session until Monday.The bill now goes to the House.

This nonsense has got to stop. The annual dance of slashes, negotiations and finally the Congress gives doctors a modest increase.

If there were a large exodus of doctors from Medicare, no one should be surprised.

Medpage Today

“The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to push back the 21% cut for physicians who treat Medicare patients until Nov. 30.

“The bill — which also gives doctors a 2.2% increase in reimbursements — was approved by voice vote Friday afternoon, on the same day that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would begin processing Medicare claims at the 21% lower rate.

“Democratic senators have been trying for a month to stall the cut mandated by Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment formula by passing a so-called “doc fix” as part of a larger bill that would extend a number of expired federal programs.”

Source: Medpage Today, June 19, 2010