The House Energy and Commerce Committee chaired by Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today voted 51-0 to approve bipartisan legislation (H.R. 2810) that would permanently fix the fundamentally flawed Medicare payment model that is used to reimburse our nation’s doctors. The current Medicare payment system – known as the Sustainable Growth Rate or simply the SGR – has been a source of continued worry for Michigan seniors and physicians who serve Medicare beneficiaries.
Every year, the SGR threatens medical providers with massive reimbursement rate cuts, which could result in fewer physicians being able or willing to serve Medicare patients. While Congress has historically responded by passing a temporary (and costly) patch to prevent the cuts from hitting our nation’s doctors, the flawed system has jeopardized the stability of Medicare and brought great uncertainty to millions of American seniors.
“H.R. 2810 remedies this ailing physician payment system while encouraging the highest quality of care for Michigan’s seniors,” said Upton. “It gives seniors the peace of mind of knowing that their trusted physician will be there for them by securing stable payments for doctors. It also provides physicians the security they need to care for their patients by removing the specter of a practice-killing 25 percent across-the-board pay cut.”
“Today’s vote is an important milestone, but we are all resolved to achieve reform in a fiscally responsible manner. Despite our significant progress, we will not be satisfied until the ink is dry on the president’s signature.”
H.R. 2810, the Medicare Patient Access and Quality Improvement Act, would repeal the broken SGR formula and replace it. It simplifies the process and eliminates onerous paperwork, allowing physicians to focus on patient care.
Earlier this month, Upton sat down with doctors in Kalamazoo to discuss his ongoing work as Chairman to improve the Medicare payment model.
“The physician community in general, and in the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph areas in particular, is extremely thankful for Fred’s leadership in fixing the everlasting SGR problem,” said Dr. Krishna Jain, MD, the founder of Advanced Vascular Surgery in Kalamazoo. “We appreciate his leadership, especially the input he has sought from doctors.”
H.R. 2810 is the product of more than two years of transparent and bipartisan work co-led by Upton and Michigan Congressman Dave Camp, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as input from expert medical organizations. Upton is committed to completing the reform effort in a fiscally responsible manner and looks forward to its consideration by the full House of Representatives.
