House of Representatives Passes Bill That Would Repeal SGR

March 26, 2015—The US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce announced that the House voted 392–37 to approve H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, which seeks to permanently repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), establish a fair and stable payment system for Medicare, protect seniors’ access to their doctors, begin to strengthen Medicare over the long term, and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, MD (R-TX) with bipartisan sponsorship led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI).

The vote brings Congress one step closer to a permanent repeal of the Medicare SGR formula. The SGR is the mechanism that ties physician payment updates to the relationship between overall fee schedule spending and growth in gross domestic product. The bill now goes to a vote in the United States Senate. The legislation was introduced in the House and Senate on March 19. 

In an announcement from the American College of Cardiology, President Kim Allan Williams, Sr, MD, commented, “In voting to repeal the SGR formula and replace it with a stable Medicare payment structure, the House has taken an important step towards solving a problem that has caused uncertainty for more than a decade for Medicare patients and for the clinicians who care for them.”

Dr. Williams added, “This legislation will allow physicians to focus more fully on patient care rather than face the threat of dramatic cuts that could make caring for Medicare patients unsustainable. Instead of kicking the can down the road one more time, Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi demonstrated strong bipartisan leadership to address this problem at last. We urge the Senate to follow suit and quickly take up and pass the provisions of the House measure, H.R. 2, before the expiration of the current SGR patch on March 31.”

Dr. Williams also noted, “The American College of Cardiology is also encouraged by the extension of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides access to care for many children, including many born with serious cardiovascular conditions.” 

In a statement released by the American Medical Association (AMA), President Robert M. Wah, MD, commented, "The AMA applauds the US House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing a long overdue bill to permanently eliminate the flawed SGR formula and put in place important Medicare payment and delivery reforms that will improve the health of the nation. While many members of the US House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, helped to achieve to today's result, Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi deserve special praise for exhibiting leadership and courage in forging this bipartisan package. We urge the US Senate to take swift action to approve the policy and send it to the President's desk before the current SGR payment patch expires on March 31."

Dr. Wah noted, "When passed by the Senate, the bill will put an end to the cycle of Congress passing expensive patches to extend a policy that all agree was bad in the first place. The new policy supports innovative new delivery and payment models that will help improve care quality, health outcomes and lower costs. It also assures access to care for children, low-income individuals and families by extending funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers."

In conclusion, he remarked, "The Senate must vote today to stop a looming 21% cut in Medicare reimbursements that will force reductions in access to health care for America's seniors, military personnel, and their families. The time is now to finally lay this destructive issue to rest and act immediately to build a stable and sustainable Medicare program that our nation's patients and physicians need and deserve."

"