Rep. Cuellar Signs on to Bill Replacing Medicare Payment System, Providing Stability to Doctors & Seniors

Press Release

Congressman Henry Cuellar (DTX-28) co-sponsored H.R. 4015, the SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014, which replaces the broken Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula with an improved payment system that rewards quality, efficiency and innovation.

Building on legislation unanimously supported out of committee in the House and the Senate, this bipartisan and bicameral legislation repeals the SGR, ends the need for a yearly short term patch known as the "doc fix," and transitions Medicare away from a system where doctors are paid based on the number of patients they see towards one based on the quality of care they provide.

"For more than a decade, Congress has had to step in and prevent Medicare from cutting physician payments and every time, it has robbed doctors and seniors of their peace of mind in the Medicare system," said Congressman Cuellar. "Continuing to enact short-term patches is bad fiscal policy--equivalent to paying the monthly minimum on a credit card bill--and increases the cost of full repeal.

While H.R. 4015 is a significant step forward in finding a permanent solution to this broken system and is legislation that Democrats and Republicans, as well as the House and the Senate, have been able to agree on, lawmakers are still struggling to find a way to pay for the legislation, which will cost $138.4 billion from 2014 to 2024, according to a Congressional Budget office estimate. I call on doctors across Texas to submit their ideas on how to recoup the costs this repeal will entail. I commend my colleagues for finding a solution to this pressing problem and I urge my fellow colleagues in Congress to support this legislation."

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