The House of Representatives approved legislation on Friday that was introduced by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate and modernize the system used to reimburse physicians.
The SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act would repeal the SGR and maintain a 0.5 percent increase in physician payments for five years.
“I’m happy to report that the House has voted for a bipartisan policy solution to modernize a system that has caused nothing but headaches for America’s seniors and their doctors,” Burgess said. “The house has voted 17 times for patches or ‘doc fixes.’ If the SGR went into effect this April, it would mean a 25-percent reduction in provider payments. The House has finally declared that we cannot continue to kick the can down the road and patch the SGR each year – we must repeal it, and we did. Now, seniors will no longer be denied the care they need because their doctors cannot afford to treat them.”
House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said modernizing how doctors are reimbursed under Medicare is critical to ensuring the program remains intact.
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) said passage of the SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act is a long overdue solution to Medicare’s payment system.
“I’ve heard from numerous doctors and health care professionals in my district who tell me that they cannot provide adequate care to their patients because of the uncertainty and flaws in the current SGR formula,” Ellmers said. “I look forward to seeing this bill move quickly through the Senate so that it can be signed into law.”
Rep. Cory Garnder (R-Colo.) said uncertainty created by the SGR formula has prevented doctors from giving patients the best possible care.
“This fix ensures that America’s seniors will be able to use their Medicare cards to see their own doctors,” Garnder said. “Since first enacted in 1997, Congress has had to repeatedly pass temporary fixes to the SGR formula to prevent doctors from turning away Medicare patients. This is a permanent solution to that problem and will help our seniors receive the healthcare they deserve.”