Senate Introduces Troublesome Health Care Reform Bill
On Nov. 19, the House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 3961) that repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) and creates a new Medicare payment system that is fair to medicine. Passage of H.R. 3961 was key to medicine’s negotiations on health care reform. The Academy supported H.R. 3961 and H.R. 3962 as "linked" bills. Thank you to members who contacted their representative in support of H.R. 3961. Senate consideration of an SGR repeal bill failed in October. Senate leadership now plans to revisit a permanent solution for physicians when health care reform is resolved.

The Senate finally introduced its health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) on Nov. 18. The Academy is reviewing that bill. Some adjustments have been made in response to the Academy and surgery’s demands including dropping penalties for physician use outliers, a provision that was unfair to specialists. However, many problematic provisions remain, including an independent Medicare cost control board (renamed IMAB). The Senate bill contains new problems, such as an unacceptable 5 percent tax on cosmetic procedures, including LASIK surgery. The tax would purportedly generate $5 billion over the next 10 years to help fund the Senate’s $849 billion plan. A vote on the "motion to proceed" is scheduled for Saturday evening. Then the Senate can proceed with a discussion on H.R. 3590, which will take place over several weeks.