House Passes Historic Bipartisan Medicare Reform Legislation

Press Release

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Scott Rigell (VA-02), a consistent and vocal advocate for reforming mandatory spending, today supported and the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, a permanent legislative fix to Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The SGR is a formula that currently calculates Medicare reimbursement payments to doctors. The bipartisan bill makes structural reforms to strengthen Medicare and provide long-term debt reduction. Supporters of the bill have argued that moving beyond the SGR will save billions of dollars and ensure seniors have access to reliable, high-quality health care. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration, and earlier this week, President Obama signaled he would sign it if passed by Congress.

"I applaud leaders in the House for working together to pass a bipartisan bill which makes meaningful reforms to mandatory spending, the principal driver of our nation's debt," said Rigell, noting that automatic spending programs such as Medicare and Medicaid make up 62 percent of our nation's budget. "Since 2003, we have passed 17 short-term "fixes' to the SGR, consistently failing to address the root of the problem. Now is the time for real solutions to be advanced. This bill reflects principled compromise, incorporating reforms that both Republicans and Democrats have previously agreed to, and will end the unsustainable, temporary patches to this important program."

The House-passed SGR reform establishes the first real, structural mandatory spending reform in nearly two decades. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that these reforms will have lasting results, including a long-term net deficit reduction, which will save American taxpayers billions of dollars over the next few decades. H.R. 2 also fights waste, fraud, and abuse within the Medicare system by removing Social Security numbers from beneficiaries' Medicare cards, thereby preventing Medicare payments for deceased and ineligible individuals. The legislation also removes burdensome reporting policies for employers. Further, the bill extends the Children's Health Insurance Program, which will keep roughly 2.5 million children or pregnant women from becoming uninsured.

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