[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING A ONE-YEAR EXTENSION FOR MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT RATES

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, as a physician and now as a legislator, I, 
frankly, do not understand the way our government continues to treat 
those who care for America's patients.
  Earlier this month, I introduced legislation, H.R. 6142, to provide a 
1-year extension for Medicare physician payment rates. This allows 
patients to continue to have access to their physicians in the next 
year.
  Look, this is no mystery. We all know the last patch is going to 
expire on December 31. We all know that before December 31 of this year 
that somehow we'll cobble together and provide another patch. Why not 
do that now? Why make them wait until the deadline? They can't plan. 
They can't grow their practices. They can't expand because they don't 
know what their government is going to do to them.
  Further compounding the problem this year is the specter of 
sequestration that occurs on January 1. No matter how you slice it, 
it's another 2 percent cut on top of the 27 to 29 percent cut they are 
already going to get under the SGR.
  Let's do the right thing. We could pass this bill under suspension 
this afternoon. We could provide our Nation's physicians the stability 
and the certainty that they need to continue to see the patients we've 
asked them to serve.

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