Conferees reach short-term SGR patch agreement; MSV fights for repeal
17 February 2012
Physicians will get a ten-month reprieve from a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments that was originally scheduled for March 1. A payment freeze will now be effective through the end of the year.
The House and Senate both quickly approved the payroll tax cut bill, which included the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) provisions, earlier today and the legislation is now going to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature. In the House, the measure was approved by a 293-132 vote. The Senate approved the agreement in a 60-36 vote. The Virginia delegation was sharply divided in its votes. Only four of the eleven House members voted for approval: Rep. Rob Wittman, Rep. Scott Rigell, Rep. Robert Hurt and Rep. Eric Cantor. Sen. Jim Webb voted for the measure, while Sen. Mark Warner voted no. Sen. Warner explained that his opposition to the bill stemmed not from the Medicare reprieve, but from the fact that the payroll tax cut was not paid for.
The American Medical Association (AMA) repeatedly called on Congress to find a permanent solution to the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and expressed the following:
“The House and Senate conference committee agreement averts a 27 percent cut on March 1, but it represents a serious missed opportunity to permanently replace the flawed Medicare physician payment formula and protect access to care for military families and seniors. People outside of Washington question the logic of spending nearly $20 billion to postpone one cut for a higher cut next year, while increasing the cost of a permanent solution by about another $25 billion.
“Congress had an opportunity to permanently end this problem, which is the sound, fiscally prudent policy choice. We appreciate efforts by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who publicly supported a framework for a permanent end to this perennial problem. We are deeply disappointed that Congress chose to just do another patch—kicking the can, growing the problem and missing a clear opportunity to protect access to care for patients. Shortly after the coming elections, access to care for seniors and military will again be threatened by an even larger cut, and members of Congress will need to take swift action to end the broken formula.”
Earlier in the week, on Feb. 13 and 14, the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) took part in the AMA’s National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. MSV President
Hugh Bryan III, M.D., Vice Chairman for Virginia’s delegation to the AMA
Randy Gould, M.D., FACS, MSV Executive Vice President
Rufus Phillips and MSV Director of Government Affairs
Matt Mansell used this event as an opportunity to schedule time to meet with Sen. Mark Warner and representatives from the offices of Sen. Jim Webb, Rep. Eric Cantor, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Morgan Griffith, and Rep. Scott Rigell's offices to educate them on the need for a permanent fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
When MSV met with representatives, they provided information from AMA on the specific impact SGR cuts would have on Virginia. Key messages they shared included:
- Why repealing the SGR before the cost of the fix rises again is fiscally responsible.
- How patients’ access to care is at risk as physicians make difficult choices about whether to continue to see Medicare patients.
- 81,815 employees of medical practices, 1.1 million Medicare patients and 759,075 Tricare patients in Virginia will be helped by legislation that averts these cuts.
During the conference, attendees also had the opportunity to discuss advocacy issues and attend educational sessions. The AMA conference keynote speaker was CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, who made news with her remarks that CMS would be willing to work with physicians on potential remedies to physician concerns related to ICD-10 code implementation. Additionally, Sen. Jon Kyl, R - Ariz., who served as a member of the Congressional conference committee working on the payroll tax and SGR legislation, updated attendees with news from the conference committee's proceedings. MSV attendees also heard a panel discussion about health care payment and delivery reform, as well as Medicare payment reform in an era of fiscal austerity.
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