Protect Health Care: Repeal the SGR
"I am living with HIV, and I was diagnosed with AIDS about 10 years ago. Without Medicare, I have no way to access treatment. Without Medicare, I die."
- D.W., Rhode Island
Medicare patients' access to health care is threatened each time Congress fails to fix the physician reimbursement system. Threatened cuts to physician reimbursement puts patients at risk of not being able to see their doctor. We need Congress to create a viable, long-term solution to the Medicare access problem.
A new report issued by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the cost to repeal the SGR is now about half of what it was in 2012. Congress can be fiscally responsible and eliminate this flawed formula, ensuring patients' access to Medicare in the long run.
Think about those suffering life-threatening illnesses that need Medicare to survive. Those covered under Medicare shouldn't have to fight to see their doctors! Repeal SGR!
Greetings,
I am writing as your constituent to let you know I am a Medicare voter, concerned about my future access to health care.
[Your comments will be inserted here.]
Congress has been passing temporary patches to the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula since it was passed 16 years ago. The time has come to finally repeal the SGR and pass a permanent solution. Consistently passing temporary patches, with the threat of future cuts, leads to uncertainty for patients who rely on this important health care program.
Now that the Congressional Budget Office, in a new report, "The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2023," estimates that the cost to repeal the SGR is about half the cost of what it was in 2012, I urge you to seize this opportunity -- act NOW and repeal the SGR.
Join me and all Medicare patients asking Congress to implement a Medicare physician payment system that provides stability for patients seeking access to care and the physicians who care for them.
