Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Pelosi, Leader Reid and Leader McConnell:
On behalf of the Alliance of Specialty Medicine (the Alliance), a coalition of medical specialty societies
representing more than 100,000 physicians and surgeons, we write to strongly urge Congress to enact
a permanent and meaningful solution to the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula when
Congress returns to session in November/December, before the end of the 113th Congress.
Physicians and seniors have waited long enough for Congress to address this significant flaw in our
nation’s largest health program. Each year since 2002, the SGR formula has called for a substantial
reduction in Medicare physician payment rates. In 2002, payment rates were reduced by 5.4 percent. In
each subsequent year, Congress has overridden the formula, specifying small increases or payment
freezes instead of large cuts. These short-term “fixes” exacerbate efforts to address the underlying
problem, add to the overall costs of repeal, and continue to undermine physician and beneficiary
confidence in the Medicare program.
An SGR replacement should base physician reimbursements on the actual cost of providing care and
allow physicians to make investments in meaningful and relevant care delivery models that aim to
improve quality and efficiency and foster patient access to the physician of their choice.
While we were encouraged with the bipartisan, bicameral progress to repeal the SGR, we hope that you
do not lose this momentum by further postponing action on a full repeal. The Alliance is on record in
support of H.R. 4015/S. 2000, the “SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of
2014” which addresses many of our core principles.
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