Dear Speaker Boehner:
The undersigned state and national medical associations strongly urge you to repeal the failed
Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before the expiration of the current payment
patch. During the 113th Congress, the three committees of jurisdiction produced a bipartisan,
bicameral SGR replacement policy with unanimous support. This accomplishment was
unprecedented in the long history of efforts to eliminate the SGR. Our physician members were
deeply disappointed that enactment of these policies was not achieved before the 113th Congress
adjourned. We urge you, therefore, to build upon the considerable efforts of the previous
Congress and enact legislation that is consistent with those broadly supported policies.
Last year’s efforts to reform the Medicare physician payment system far exceeded previous
attempts to repeal the flawed SGR formula. Through months of hard work, a policy was
developed that won not only bipartisan congressional support but also widespread support from
organized medicine. That proposal would not only eliminate the dysfunctional SGR formula, but
also create new pathways for physicians to participate in alternative payment and health care
delivery models that emphasize value over volume and have the demonstrated potential of
reducing long-term spending growth across the Medicare program. These policies represent the
most significant structural reforms to the Medicare program in many years and replicate many of
the opportunities for maximizing quality and reducing costs that are being successfully
implemented in the private sector.
It is our fervent hope that the bipartisan, bicameral polices developed by the previous Congress
will be advanced and, under your leadership, enacted into law. We urge you and all members of
the House and Senate to take the necessary steps to achieve this long standing goal.
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