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The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday 339-85 to pass a major spending bill that carried a provision slightly boosting Medicare physician payment. The American Medical Association said it was "extremely disappointed" that the boost only eased, but did not fully reverse, a deeper planned cut. The Senate could vote on the $460 billion spending package by Friday.

Lawmakers have added a provision to raise Medicare payments to clinicians to a US federal spending bill, but industry groups have criticized it as paltry.

Physicians' groups and some lawmakers have long pressed Congress to change Medicare payment rules with little success, even as inflation has caused physicians' expenses to rise. Doctors now face a 3.4% cut to Medicare reimbursements in 2024, which would be only partly mitigated by the recently announced provision.

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) said the proposed increase would total 1.68%.

"We are deeply disappointed with Congress' half-hearted attempt to remedy the devastating blow physician practices were dealt by the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule," said Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of MGMA, in a statement. "Anything less than a full reversal of the 3.4% cut is appallingly inadequate."

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also expressed disappointment with the proposed increase.

"The AAFP has repeatedly told Congress that the 3.4% Medicare payment reduction that went into effect on January 1 is untenable for family physicians and threatens patients' access to primary care," the group said in a statement.

"While we appreciate the partial relief, family physicians continue to face an annual threat of payment cuts that are detrimental to practices and patients," AAFP said.

Lawmakers often tweak Medicare policy by adding provisions to other kinds of legislation, including the spending bills Congress must pass to keep the federal government running.

The House and Senate Appropriations committees on Sunday released a bipartisan package of spending bills for fiscal 2024, which began on October 1, 2023. A series of stopgap bills have been used since to fund operations. As of Tuesday night, House GOP leadership said it intended to bring the appropriations package to the floor this week.

Kerry Dooley Young is a freelance journalist based in Washington, DC.