House and Senate lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would end the annual reduction in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients.
The legislation was announced as lawmakers work behind the scenes on a larger deal to reform the Medicare reimbursement program and extend the federal health insurance program for children.
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The legislation introduced Thursday would repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate, a mechanism implemented yearly to control the rising costs of medical care. It would replace the SGR with a 0.5 percent annual increase in payments over the next five years. The bill would also streamline Medicare fee-for-service programs into one system and would improve payment accuracy and encourage doctors to “adopt proven practices.”
While the legislation has support from both Democrats and Republicans on both sides of the Capitol, lawmakers are pushing for a wider, $200 billion deal to help pay for the cost of permanently ending the SGR, which is commonly referred to as the “doc fix.”
The talks centering on a larger deal are ongoing and could wrap up in the coming days, Republican aides said.
“It’s a chance to get rid of Washington’s most infamous budget gimmicks,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. “I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters she is eager to end the annual SGR cuts to Medicare but is awaiting details of the larger deal, which could include requiring higher-income seniors to pay more for Medicare services.
“Yes, we’ve been working on that,” Pelosi said. “It’s something that has to happen. It’s not a doc-fix, it’s a fix for America’s seniors so that they can continue to see their doctor under Medicare.”
Conservatives are wary of the deal because it may add to the deficit in the initial ten years, but supporters say that overall the deal would reduce Medicare spending.
