House passes bill to repeal SGR, delay Individual Mandate
Earlier today the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), the problematic payment formula that has been in place for several years. The bill would move payments made to physicians and other providers to "alternative payment models" or APMs and away from traditional fee-for-service payments. This bill did not include many important rural provisions, known as the rural Medicare extenders. To pay for this repeal, the House bill would delay the penalty portion of the individual mandate until 2019. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that the Senate will not consider this offset and the President has vowed to veto the bill over this provision. NRHA continues to work with Members of Congress in both chambers to ensure that these important rural Medicare programs are continued in legislation aimed at updating the SGR and that any future offsets do not harm rural providers. For more information on the rural Medicare extenders, please visit the government affairs section of NRHA's website.