SubCommitte On Health Kicks Off Discussion of Bipartisan Solutions to Strengthen Medicare

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Policy Heavyweights Lieberman and Rivlin Headline Day One of Hearing to KeepthePromise to Seniors

WASHINGTON, DC – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today began a hearing to discuss the path to getting a permanent solution to the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate for Medical physician payment to the president’s desk. The current patch is set to expire at the end of March. Last Congress, the full committee passed an agreement on policy by a vote of 51 to zero to completely remove the threat of SGR, replacing it with a system that promotes the highest quality of care for seniors. Subcommittee members today discussed solutions to pay for this policy change while also strengthening the Medicare program as a whole.

Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) commented, “Coming up with approximately $140 billion in offsets will not be easy, but it is a task we must embrace.”

Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) added, “This subcommittee has proven it is capable of working together, and I think we’re ready to do it again. There is a path forward, and it involves targeted reforms which save money without cutting care; it involves a balance of pay-fors which are bipartisan policies; and it involves a spirit of cooperation with sustained commitment.”

Former Senator Joe Lieberman outlined policy options to address Medicare’s looming insolvency as a policy to pay for this SGR policy solution. He explained, “Arguing about when Medicare’s trust fund is going to be insolvent is a little like arguing over the speed of an oncoming tidal wave – speed is relevant, but it’s the scope and direction of the problem that determines the outcome.” He added, “The most compassionate thing members can do is act now to fix SGR and adopt some common-sense reforms – not punt on these issues to another Congress for another day.”

Alice Rivlin, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Delivery System Reform Initiative, underscored, “Replacing the SGR can advance payment reform. It can move health care delivery away from fee-for-service, which rewards volume rather than value, and toward higher quality and less waste.” Rivlin added, “Paying for SGR is also an opportunity to find offsets that also demonstrate good health policy.”

Responding to questions from Health Subcommittee Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Rivlin offered some specific ideas to strengthen Medicare for seniors over the long term and help pay for the resolution of the SGR. Watch the complete exchange here:

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