On the recordMay 28, 2010
I want to urge my colleagues to vote for the part of this legislation that would update the SGR, which is the payment for physicians under the Medicare program. It's absolutely critical to do this if we are going to keep doctors in Medicare and keep the promise to Medicare beneficiaries that they will have access to physicians' services. This provision will provide a moderate increase in physician fees, 2.2 percent for the rest of this year, another 1 percent next year. If we don't act, doctors' fees will be cut by 21 percent from where they are today. This would be unconscionable. The truth is we should be doing a lot more than this. We should have had a permanent fix of the SGR issue. We need to ensure stability for the Medicare patients and their doctors. After we pass this, we will go back and address that issue, but it is important that we adopt the SGR part. Finally, I want to express my deep regret that we are not including two provisions that are essential to the fiscal security of those hardest hit by the recession: an extension of COBRA coverage and a 6-month extension of the Medicaid matching increase that helps States cope with the effects of this recession. Failing to do this will cost jobs and hurt vulnerable people. I hope this is not our final action on this subject. At least let's do what we can today. Support the physician payment improvement and support the bill.
