OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Medicare votes come down to the wire

Congress is coming dangerously close to a Wednesday deadline that would mean double-digit payment cuts to thousands of Medicare doctors across the country.

The Senate began voting on a half-dozen amendments to the House-passed $200 billion “doc fix” bill at 7:10 p.m. – with less than six hours until the cuts go into effect.

{mosads}The bill remained in flux on Tuesday until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced shortly after 7 p.m. that they had reached an agreement to begin voting.

Both McConnell and Reid had urged passage of the rare bipartisan bill earlier in the day, but attempts to schedule a vote were slowed to a halt by the six amendments floated by both parties.

The amendments, which range from a women’s health omnibus to a repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate, are intended to give political cover to members who had previously opposed the bill.   

McConnell, Reid, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin began discussing contingency plans with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inside the chamber close to 7 p.m.

“He’s going to see what CMS will say if we [don’t] get it done tonight,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said, pointing to McConnell, just off the floor around 7 p.m.

Senate leaders have been in a particularly tough spot: To get the bill to the president’s desk before midnight, the Senate would almost certainly have to pass a clean bill.

“Honestly it’s my hope that the amendments aren’t approved,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday. He added that he was “optimistic and hopeful” that the chamber would meet the federal government’s deadline.

“We need to pass it today, and I think most of our members understand that,” McConnell told reporters.

The bill would eliminate Medicare’s flawed doctor payment formula known as the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, which Congress has been trying to repeal for nearly 20 years.

If Congress does not act, doctors’ paychecks from the federal government will be slashed 21 percent. The government can retroactively make up for those cuts if and when Congress passes an SGR bill, though it will cost far more money to double-process the claims.

Reid said late Tuesday that the votes could still be delayed if the Obama administration confirms that it will wait to cut the payments.

“We don’t have that assurance yet. We’re going to have to go ahead [with the votes],” he said.

Wednesday’s schedule

The House Appropriations health subcommittee will hold a hearing on Ebola funding.

State by state

Oklahoma governor signs curb on abortion procedure

ObamaCare enrollment rises in Rubio’s backyard

North Carolina audit reports $350M in Medicaid liabilities

Alaska governor: Medicaid reform without expansion unacceptable

What we’re reading

Appeals court rejects Ron Johnson’s ObamaCare challenge   

Study finds broad rise in medication use by those newly joining Medicaid

U.S. prescription drug spending rose 13 percent in 2014

Medicare broadens coverage for HIV/AIDS screenings

What you might have missed from The Hill

CDC begins Ebola vaccine trial in Sierra Leone

Poll: Seniors trust Dems more on Medicare

Obama: King v. Burwell case ‘pretty clear cut’

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