The Senate yesterday approved $39.7 billion in budget cuts after Vice President Dick Cheney broke a 50-50 tie. But President Bush probably won't see the bill on his desk until next year, after Senate Democrats succeeded yesterday in a procedural move that sends the bill back to the House for reapproval. Democrats struck some minor sections of the bill -- including provisions that protect hospitals from being sued if they turn away people who can't pay -- resulting in legislation that is different from the House-passed bill. The House reconvenes in an informal session today, meaning only a few members will be present and any action will have to be by unanimous consent. Among other things, the budget-trimming bill reduces Medicaid spending by a net of $4.8 billion over five years, mainly through a series of reforms. Medicare would receive $7.3 billion to ensure that its doctors don't see a cut in their payments, but it would also see reforms to its hospital program and medical equipment purchases, for a net reduction of $6.4 billion. There exists bipartisan agreement that the cuts must be stopped in order to preserve seniors’ access to care. (A national survey conducted earlier this year by the AMA found that 38 percent of physicians will be forced to limit the number of new Medicare patients they accept into their practice when the cut begins Jan. 1. The AMC/NOMA conducted its own, similar member survey with similar responses). Procedural issues in the Senate may have prevented final action on the bill yesterday, so now the House must act promptly on Senate amendments to the reconciliation conference report and send this bill to the President.