[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 52 (Monday, April 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MEDICARE ACCESS AND CHIP REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2015

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, on March 26th, the House passed H.R. 2, the 
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. H.R. 2 will 
repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and replace it 
with a bipartisan agreement to improve the Medicare payment system and 
return stability to physician payments.
  The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created SGR in an attempt to control 
spending in the Medicare program, and it was adopted for TRICARE as 
well. For years, this methodology has consistently produced unrealistic 
expenditure targets that trigger untenable reductions in payment rates 
to doctors providing services to Medicare patients.
  Congress has repeatedly buried the true cost of this policy through 
annual Congressional overrides of these scheduled cuts. Each of these 
short-term ``doc fixes'' has achieved the important goal of averting an 
immediate crisis in access to physicians for Medicare beneficiaries, 
but has exacerbated a longer-term crisis in Medicare financing.
  Continued reliance on short-term patches creates instability in the 
health care system and the economy as a whole. Doctors have been 
hamstrung by yearly doubt about what reimbursement rates will be, and 
patients have had to pay the eventual price in uneven, substandard 
quality of care. Enactment of H.R. 2 will bring stability back to our 
health care system.
  I voted for H.R. 2 because this legislation not only repeals the SGR, 
but also preserves and extends the Children's Health Insurance Program 
and provides funding for Community Health Centers through 2017. These 
programs are important in ensuring that those who need it most have 
access to health care. I remain concerned that the bill included an 
unnecessary provision restating current law on abortion coverage 
restrictions. The Hyde Amendment language, which has been included in 
annual appropriations bills since 1976, restricts women's access to 
health care and disproportionately discriminates against women of 
color, immigrants, and young people. Moving forward, we must work to 
ensure that women get access to health care, not continue policies that 
limit it.
  Medicare has guaranteed essential health protections to seniors and 
certain disabled persons for nearly four decades. Fixing the physician 
Medicare reimbursement system is important to ensuring continued high 
quality care for Americans. I believe Medicare is more than just a 
program; it is a covenant that exists between the government and the 
American people, and I supported H.R. 2 to keep that covenant.

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