By a vote of 392 – 37, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which, among other things, would permanently repeal and replace the SGR formula. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. While the long-term prospects for this bill are positive, it is not clear whether the Senate will act quickly on the bill and move to pass it prior to the March 31 deadline. It is possible the Senate could opt to take some time to consider the legislation and vote on the bill after the SGR cut takes effect. The Senate is scheduled to depart Washington tomorrow (3/27) for a two-week period and is not scheduled to return until April 13. At this time, it is not clear whether the Senate will try to take up the House passed bill later this evening or delay action until April 13. Precision will provide another update on what the Senate plans to do with this bill as soon as we have firm information on the schedule.
