The Senate this week is scheduled to begin debate on the Medicare Physicians Fairness Act (S. 1776), legislation that would update the Medicare physician fee schedule beginning in 2010 as well as sunset the application of the sustainable growth rate formula.

"We have had a failed, flawed payment system in place for many years as it relates to physicians, and we come back every year, in fact, and stop the cuts that are proposed under that flawed system to make sure we are not putting our physicians in harm's way as it relates to their Medicare reimbursements," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) upon introducing the bill last week. "We all know that the sustainable growth rate process is flawed and yet we have not fixed it permanently. So the legislation I have would, in fact, fix this permanently and guarantee we are stopping this cycle that we put our physicians and hospitals through every year, where there may be a cut, there may not be a cut, and in the end we have to come in and fix it."

Stabenow acknowledged that the bill does come with a budgetary price tag, but did not provide specifics. The Congressional Budget Office has yet to release a cost estimate for the legislation.