MINNEAPOLIS, March 3, 2010 – The Senate voted Tuesday to postpone the 21 percent cut in Medicare payments until April 1.

The Senate voted 78 to 19 to pass H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," which extended 2009 Medicare physician payment rates and a variety of other expiring programs including unemployment insurance and health care premium subsidies (COBRA) for the unemployed.

The bill passed the House on February 25, only to encounter opposition on the Senate floor by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who objected to the legislation being considered as an emergency measure requiring budget offsets.

Discussions are underway in the House and Senate on the next steps that will be taken to address the Medicare payment crisis.

Proposals are being circulated that would implement still another short-term patch to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, including proposals that would postpone cuts for 90 days, 7 months, or through the rest of the year.

The AMA continues to press for permanent repeal of the SGR, rather than repeating the pattern of short-term remedies that serve to make future payment cuts more severe and increase the cost of permanent Medicare payment reform.

To see how your Senator voted on passing H.R. 4961, visit http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00032.