Price Statement on Temporary “Doc Fix”
Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after the House finally passed fully paid-for legislation to delay a 21 percent cut to Medicare reimbursement rates until November. Speaker Pelosi said last week that she would not move on this legislation until the Senate had passed separate legislation that would add billions to the deficit. While CMS recently began processing claims at the decreased level, those claims will now be reprocessed for the full reimbursement.
“Thankfully, Speaker Pelosi did not follow through on her irresponsible threat to hold this bill hostage, but she should never have delayed it in the first place,” said Congressman Price. “The Democrat leadership showed how remarkably out-of-touch they have become when they tried to use access to health care as political leverage. Their actions needlessly sowed tremendous uncertainty into the Medicare program for patients and doctors all across the country. Many physicians already have no choice but to stop accepting Medicare because the program does not cover the cost of treatments. This is still just a temporary fix to a long-term problem. It is time to stop disrupting the practice of medicine with political games and find a permanent, yet paid-for, solution.”
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