This time HHS pretended Congress wouldn't pass such a "doc fix, " a fake assumption that yields an artificially lower reimbursement rate for the insurers in Advantage.
And perhaps even more important, is this a case where nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to, including the docfix and the jobless benefits extension?
They also assume that the temporary tax provisions (the so-called extenders) and the temporary Medicare physician payment adjustment (the docfix) expire in a year as the law states.
One way to muck it up would be to somehow to fail to extend the payroll tax cut, or somehow fail to extend unemployment insurance benefits or the docfix.
My best guess is that the payroll tax cut ( as well as unemployment benefits and the docfix) will get extended through the end of the year with surprisingly little controversy.