Washington, DC - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) made the following remarks just before the House voted to fix a 21% cut in Medicare physician payment reimbursements  until November 30, 2010.  This bill would retroactively prevent the 21% cut and replace it with a 2% increase in doctor’s payments.
 

“Madame Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senate Amendments to H.R. 3962 that will extend the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) for six months. We must pass this bill so we ensure our seniors and military service members and their families will have access to the same doctors they have today.
 

“While this bill is of utmost importance, I want to remind my colleagues that our work is not complete. We need a permanent repeal of the flawed SGR formula. For the sake of our seniors, military families and our doctors, we cannot keep kicking this can down the road. I will continue to work toward a permanent fix.
 

“I also want to express my disappointment with Senate Republicans who have continued to block the broader jobs and extenders package. While they play politics, the American people are losing access to their unemployment insurance and other tax credits. Their refusal to compromise means a refusal to provide our states with the Medicaid funding they so desperately need. I urge our colleagues on the other side of the capitol to act swiftly and provide this much needed assistance to the American people.”
 

Rep. Dingell is the author of legislation that would provide a permanent fix to the current SGR formula, H.R. 3961, the “Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act.”  In November, the House passed H.R. 3961 which would replace the current SGR formula with a new formula that:
 

• Removes items such as drugs and laboratory services not paid directly to practitioners from spending targets;
• Allows spending on most services to grow at the rate of GDP plus 1 percentage point per year (compared to GDP without any adjustment today);
• Allows spending on primary and preventive care services to grow at GDP plus 2 percent per year; and
• Encourages coordinated, innovative care by allowing Accountable Care Organizations to be responsible for their own growth paths, irrespective of reductions or increases that apply elsewhere in the system.