Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009.  This legislation will prevent a scheduled 21 percent Medicare payment cut to physicians, while providing a long-term fix to the flawed Medicare reimbursement formula that has threatened access to care for over a decade.

Congress has made unprecedented strides this year in the fight to reform our nation’s health insurance system. On November 7th, I was proud to support the first comprehensive health reform bill to pass the House in several decades.  This was an historic achievement, but we have more work to do.  Low Medicare reimbursement rates have made it difficult to retain qualified doctors in Rhode Island, particularly those who practice primary care. This is not just a problem for Rhode Island’s seniors; it is an issue that affects every patient in Rhode Island and throughout the country.

The Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula, or SGR, was a cost control measure instituted in 1997 that has required repeated cuts in physician reimbursements that don’t reflect the true costs of care.  Since 2002, Congress has recognized this fact and passed yearly fixes to prevent these cuts from taking effect.  If left unresolved, this problem will result in a total reimbursement cut of 40 percent to doctors by 2016, the same time period during which we will see even more baby boomers entering the Medicare program. 

H.R. 3961 replaces the pending 21 percent fee cut with an update for 2010 based on the Medicare economic index, estimated at 1.2 percent.   Beginning in 2011, the update adjustment factor would be based on spending for each category of service since 2009, wiping the slate clean from the onerous accrual of cuts that have loomed over doctors for years.  In addition, it provides an extra growth allowance for primary care services to promote access to primary care practitioners in Medicare and throughout the health care system.

Successful health reform must include a Medicare payment structure that ensures fair reimbursement for doctors and continued access for seniors. H.R. 3961 is a necessary step toward achieving that goal, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.