[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           PRESCRIPTION OF THE DAY: PHYSICIAN PAYMENT REFORM

  (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, here's the problem: Every 6, 12, or 18 
months for the last several years, doctors who participate in Medicare, 
a public option, have faced steep payment cuts, threatening their 
ability to keep their doors open.
  This Congress, and many Congresses before it, instead of biting the 
bullet and working to find a long-term and permanent solution to the 
problem, passes short-term fixes, leaving America's doctors uncertain 
about their ability to continue serving our Nation's seniors and 
practicing medicine. Doctors need a stable and reasonable predictor of 
their Medicare reimbursement rates, and the current formula, the 
Sustainable Growth Rate formula, is flawed and outdated.
  For the past several years I have introduced legislation that will 
correct this formula, and it is incumbent upon this Congress to address 
this issue. We need a permanent fix. Our doctors are forced to live 
under the ax of yearly cuts just for the privilege of seeing our 
Nation's seniors.
  Reforms to the system are important. I urge constituents to go to the 
Web site healthcaucus.org, weigh in on this issue, and stay abreast on 
all of the health care debates that are going on in this Congress.

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