[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10366-S10367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. STABENOW:
  S. 1776. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for the update under the Medicare physician fee schedule for 
years beginning with 2010 and to sunset the application of the 
sustainable growth rate formula, and for other purposes; read the first 
time.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise for just a moment because I am 
introducing a bill today that I will speak more about at another time, 
but it is a very important bill for the physicians of this country.
  We have had a failed, flawed payment system in place for many years 
as it relates to physicians, and we come back

[[Page S10367]]

every year, in fact, and stop the cuts that are proposed under that 
flawed system to make sure we are not putting our physicians in harm's 
way as it relates to their Medicare reimbursements.
  This has gone on year after year after year after year. We all know 
that the sustainable growth rate process is flawed and yet we have not 
fixed it permanently. So the legislation I have would, in fact, fix 
this permanently and guarantee we are stopping this cycle that we put 
our physicians and hospitals through every year, where there may be a 
cut, there may not be a cut, and in the end we have to come in and fix 
it.
  So this is a bill that would permanently change the payment system 
for physicians to a fairer system. It does have a cost to it. It is 
less than it was prior to the very positive action the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services took a few weeks ago, removing the costs of 
medicine from the formula. It should never have been there in the first 
place. But by removing that, that means the overall costs are less than 
they otherwise would be.
  But it is important we get this right, we fix what has been a very 
flawed system. As we go into the health care reform debate, I think it 
is important we get this done right first so every physician 
understands we are not going to put them in this position year after 
year after year.
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