MINNEAPOLIS, June 24, 2008—The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to stop the 10.6 percent physician Medicare cut scheduled to take place on July 1.

While passage of HR 6331 is good news, it doesn’t stop the cut yet. The Senate vote two weeks ago came up 6 votes short of the 60 needed to move a similar bill, S. 3101.

According to the AMA staff, discussions are continuing between Sen. Baucus (D-Montana) and Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa) to find a bipartisan agreement to stop the cut.

President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

The House bill required a two thirds majority to pass and it achieved that handily, with a vote of 355 to 59. Another 20 members abstained. Every Minnesota House representative voted for the bill except Rep. Michele Bachman, 6th District.

"This is the positive outcome the MMA, together with the AMA and scores of other medical organizations, have been fighting for for many months," said Dave Renner, the MMA's director of state and federal legislation. "It's a textbook example of the power physicians can wield in Congress when they speak in a united voice."

Renner cautioned that there is still work to be done before the July recess to stop the cut.

Attached is a list of who voted for and against the bill.