Republicans are calling Thursday’s House vote to end annual cuts to Medicare reimbursements paid to doctors “progress” in “delivering the first real entitlement reform in nearly two decades.”
“For seniors, this will end years of needless concern and frustration that care will suffer from arbitrary cuts,” Rep. Phil Roe, a retired physician from Tennessee, said in the Republican weekly address.
“For families, this will mean a more stable Medicare program to care for their elderly parents,” he continued. “And for taxpayers, this will result in a huge amount of savings 20, 30, 40 years down the road.”
Roe mentioned that Congress has repeatedly passed short-term “doc fix” bills that temporarily correct Medicare entitlement cuts.
“But this time is different,” Roe said. “This week, the House passed bipartisan legislation to permanently repeal this formula. Instead, we’re delivering the first real entitlement reform in nearly two decades.”
The permanent cuts passed the House 392-37 Thursday in a bipartisan effort.
