Congress votes to repeal SGR

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 10:07 AM

Thanks to all physician advocates for your work

Yesterday, April 14, the U.S. Senate voted 92-8 to pass H.R. 2, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act,” or MACRA, which at last repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) Medicare payment formula. The U.S. House of Representatives passed an identical bill on March 26, 392-37. The bill now heads to the president for his signature.

Read more about the provisions of the bill here on the American Medical Association’s website.

According to the AMA, Medicare is expected to begin processing claims tomorrow for services provided from April 1-14 at the rates that were effective before the 21 percent cut took effect. Under the provisions of H.R. 2, the fee schedule conversion factor will be increased by 0.5 percent on July 1, 2015, and by another 0.5 percent on Jan. 1, 2016.

The AMA and Colorado Medical Society express our sincere thanks to all of the physician advocates who participated in a successful grassroots advocacy campaign to eliminate the SGR. Medicine’s united voice was instrumental to this success. We encourage you to express your appreciation to the Colorado congressional delegation for voting for H.R. 2, a complex bill that reflects bipartisan compromise.