Medicare cuts postponed.

The Senate approved by unanimous consent a bill that will provide a 31-day payment patch to the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. The bill will freeze current rates for services provided through Dec. 31, and temporarily avert a 23 percent cut to physician payments that was slated to take effect on Dec. 1.

While the 31-day fix, if approved, is a step in the right direction, it is only a temporary patch. Physicians still face a 25 percent cut on January 1, 2011.