Dave Camp: “Mr. Speaker, Medicare, of course, with regard to hospitals and providers, reimburses, particularly hospitals, based on a…”

“Mr. Speaker, Medicare, of course, with regard to hospitals and providers, reimburses, particularly hospitals, based on a system that on average allows them to make a profit under Medicare. We are advised in Congress by a nonpartisan group of panel experts called MEDPAC, or the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. And this bill, as passed the House, follows their recommendation and their advice to Congress, which they made unanimously, that Congress increase payments by 3 percent, which is what this legislation does. We will be spending billions and billions of dollars on Medicare. We are trying to do it in a responsible way that follows the advice of the nonpartisan experts that Congress has looked to in the past to help guide us in these matters. So again, I would say that there will be a tremendous amount in this legislation for providers, particularly in rural areas. I represent a rural area in Michigan. And just to give Iowa as an example, they will ultimately receive a 5.5 percent increase in Medicare payments above what they would have received under current law. Again, that does not include the increases that they would receive for the 51 critical access hospitals in Iowa. So there will still be, I think, a significant help to make sure that there will be access to health care in rural areas. It is a critical issue, and this legislation provides for that.”