Officials have informed that the U. S. House passed a bill on Thursday to reverse a 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors that took effect last week.

The Hill has reported that the legislation, approved unanimously June 18 in the Senate, not only restores the fees through December, it also increases fees by 2.2 percent.

With the only vote against coming from Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the House vote was 417-1.

President Barack Obama said in a statement issued by the White House, "I'm pleased that Congress has acted to ensure the security of our seniors' health care. A 21 percent pay cut to physicians' payments would have forced some doctors to step seeing Medicare patients -- an outcome we can all agree is unacceptable."

The United States needs to reform Medicare reimbursement formula permanently, "in a way that attacks our fiscal problems without punishing our hard-working doctors or endangering the benefits on which so many of our seniors rely," said The President.

American Medical Association President Cecil Wilson said putting off a permanent change in the formula "is not a solution."

Wilson said in a statement, "It doesn't solve the Medicare mess Congress has created with a long series of short-term Medicare patches over the last decade, including four to avert the 2010 cut alone."

The Hill further said that House Democratic leaders held off a vote on the measure until after the Senate voted Thursday on legislation to extend unemployment benefits and provide $15 billion for state aid. (With Inputs from Agencies)