WASHINGTON, DC - The House of Representatives on Thursday will vote to put an end to the nearly two decades of “fixing" the broken Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Bipartisan leaders of the Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means Committee earlier this week introduced H.R. 2, legislation to fix the Medicare payment formula for doctors, protect seniors’ access to their Medicare physicians, strengthen the program over the longer term, and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Support continues to build for this “historic opportunity " to strengthen Medicare and put an end to the repeated and costly “doc fix" bills that have served as a vehicle for bigger government.
Quin Hillyer in National Review :
“The bill up for consideration on Thursday would implement a number of Medicare reforms of the sort conservatives long have championed. Some of those reforms bring market forces into play. Others tighten eligibility rules to achieve savings, and others are likely to catch and block some attempts at Medicare fraud. … A host of conservatives, eminently trusted on economics/budgetary issues, recognize that this bill represents real (even if only incremental) long-term reform of just the right sort. … This set of Medicare reforms is good medicine."
Colin Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring, in The Daily Caller :
“The periodic doc fix votes feed an industry of lobbyists and consultants and perpetuate an air of unreality in budget impact calculations. … I would consider the deal to be a win for the conservative movement and for all Americans."
Mary R. Grealy, President of Healthcare Leadership Council :
“We applaud the bipartisan leadership in both the House and Senate for fashioning a system that is not only sensible and stable, but that will create meaningful incentives to strengthen healthcare quality."
American Medical Association:
“This legislation represents years of bipartisan effort to eliminate the fatally flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and support the implementation of new payment and delivery models that will promote high-quality care while reducing costs."
David B. Hoyt, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons :
“Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have demonstrated an exceptional spirit of bipartisan cooperation to advance thoughtfully constructed, ACS-supported legislation that will provide much needed stability to the Medicare program."
American Hospital Association:
“We commend the House Republican and Democratic leadership in their design of this package, and urge the House to pass it."
Mark Parkinson, CEO of American Health Care Association :
“Each year we are in a battle up on Capitol Hill to determine whose turn it is to pay for the doc fix. There’s no reason to believe this will get any better without a permanent doc fix."
The Associated Press :
“An extraordinary bipartisan accord between House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is letting both parties exhale as they move toward permanently ending the nagging annual threat of Medicare cuts to physicians."
Politico:
“By all measures, the bill represents a major breakthrough both in terms of government policy and House politics."
Learn more about the committee’s multi-year effort to replace the SGR here.
