While Congress has reached an agreement to spare physicians a 27.4 percent Medicare payment cut through the end of 2012, permanent repeal of the broken Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula is still necessary. The road to a permanent solution now goes up a steeper cliff as the cost to repeal SGR grows and future cuts are expected to rise to approximately 32 percent.
As has been the case for almost a decade, Congress is once again using temporary Band-Aid tactics to postpone these drastic cuts that would have a significant impact on access to care. The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) appreciates the efforts of Rep. Allyson Swartz, recipient of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award, and Sen. Pat Toomey for their support in repealing SGR.
As part of Congress’s action, the Government Accountability Office and U.S. Department of Human Services are required to submit reports to Congress to help develop a long-term replacement of the existing Medicare physician payment system.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society and the American Medical Association (AMA) continue to strongly advocate for permanent SGR repeal rather than the short-term fixes to avert these cuts. Delaying permanent repeal only increases the size of future cuts and the cost to taxpayers.
"Congress had an opportunity to permanently end this problem, which is the sound, fiscally prudent policy choice, said the AMA in a recent statement. “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."
PAMED and the AMA support using the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds, discretionary monies for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that are no longer needed, to offset the cost of permanent SGR repeal.
“As Congress looks to yet again preempt a physician payment cut, I believe it is imperative that we identify a viable pathway to replacing the SGR,” said Sen. Toomey in a statement expressing his support of the use of OCO funds for this purpose. “It’s time that Congress use honest budgeting and provide Pennsylvania’s 2.2 million Medicare beneficiaries and 155,776 employees of medical practices with some certainty.”