A bill that would halt Medicare's planned 10 percent reduction in reimbursement to doctors and extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Aug. 1 and awaits a Senate vote. President George Bush has promised a veto. The bill would also compel the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to re-evaluate region-based reimbursement adjustments related to the program's geographic practice cost index.

The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 passed the House by 225 to 204 in a mostly party-line vote.

If the president eventually signs the bill into law, it would stop for two years Medicare reimbursement cuts called for under the agency's Sustainable Growth Rate formula, instead increasing reimbursement by 0.5 percent for 2008 and 2009, according to the American Medical Association. The bill would extend the SCHIP program, which is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2007, by injecting about $50 billion over five years.

The bill is funded largely by a 45-cent-a-pack cigarette tax and reduced payments to Medicare Advantage plans.

The White House issued a statement threatening to veto the CHAMP Act, calling the bill too costly and charging that it "clearly favors government-run healthcare over private health insurance." The administration also opposes reduced funding for Medicare Advantage.

On Aug. 2, the Senate passed a similar bill that extends SCHIP with $35 billion over five years. But it contains none of the House bill's Medicare provisions.

The House and Senate Conference Committee plans to meet during the August recess to develop a joint SCHIP-Medicare bill for a floor vote before the Sept. 30 deadline, according to the California Medical Association.

"Everybody understands that there's an interest in preventing the cuts from taking place," says a House Ways and Means spokesman. "Hopefully that's one issue we can resolve in conference."