Update on Mar. 26: House overwhelmingly passes the bill 392-37. The bill now moves to the Senate. If passed by Senate, President Barack Obama has indicated he will sign the measure into law.

Statement from THA President and CEO Craig Becker on Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015

“The Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) supports H.R. 2, the U.S. House of Representatives’ bipartisan package known as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, to permanently repeal the Medicare physician Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). We are especially relieved by this solution because the 17 short-term SGR fixes over the past few years have nearly all included cuts to hospitals and other providers. These fixes typically were less than a year each and this bill draws these short-term solutions to an end. 

“Of special note for Tennessee’s hospitals is the H.R. 2 provision to provide 10 years of funding for our state’s Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, which is critically needed and somewhat levels the playing field in comparison to the Medicaid DSH resources our neighboring states receive. We also are happy to see funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and community health centers are both included in the package.   

“Obviously, we would prefer hospitals to not be part of the offsets to help pay for the package. At the same time, we realize that if this deal falls through and Congress must consider another one-year SGR delay, then cuts to providers still will be in play to pay for a useless additional one-year delay. 

“THA strongly prefers a permanent SGR fix and appreciates this unique moment in time for Tennessee’s DSH payment. Therefore, we give our full support to this bill. Most important, we are grateful for efforts to bring equity to hospital payments for Tennessee. I applaud the commitment and hard work of Tennessee’s congressional delegation on this issue.”

To download the American Hospital Association's letter to Congress, click here.

Statement from American Medical Association President, Robert M. Wah, MD

“The American Medical Association (AMA) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing a long overdue bill to permanently eliminate the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and put in place important Medicare payment and delivery reforms that will improve the health of the nation.“While many members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, helped to achieve to today’s result, Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi deserve special praise for exhibiting leadership and courage in forging this bipartisan package.“We urge the U.S. Senate to take swift action to approve the policy and send it to the President’s desk before the current SGR payment patch expires on March 31.“When passed by the Senate, the bill will put an end to the cycle of Congress passing expensive patches to extend a policy that all agree was bad in the first place. The new policy supports innovative new delivery and payment models that will help improve care quality, health outcomes and lower costs. It also assures access to care for children, low-income individuals and families by extending funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and community health centers.“The Senate must vote today to stop a looming 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements that will force reductions in access to health care for America’s seniors, military personnel and their families. The time is now to finally lay this destructive issue to rest and act immediately to build a stable and sustainable Medicare program that our nation’s patients and physicians need and deserve.”

Statement from Medical Group Management Association President & CEO Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, FAAP 

“The House of Representatives has voted to remove the dark cloud of financial uncertainty over physician group practices. Medicare innovation has been hampered far too long by the SGR. The Senate is one vote away from returning stability to patients and physicians in Medicare. MGMA urges the Senate to immediately vote to repeal the SGR."