WASHINGTON The House of Representatives today votedto permanently fix the broken Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The bipartisan plan fixes the long-standing problem of how doctors get paid for treating the 53 million Americans who depend on Medicare.

Congress has averted a continuation of a national health-care crisis, said Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), who voted in favor of the legislation. Doctors can now worry about patients instead of payments.

The vote produces a clean slate on which Congress can begin its efforts to institute much–needed Medicare reform to save the program. It creates a more patient-centered system that will provide significant savings over the long term and offers a good first step toward keeping the promises made to our seniors. In addition, the package combats waste, fraud, and abuse in our Medicare program with the inclusion of the Protecting the Integrity of Medicare Act (PIMA)all without increasing taxes.

Brady added, Fixing SGR has been a shared goal for many years, and today we have provided the Senate and White House with the best opportunity to write a new chapter in the history of the American health-care system which focuses on creating stability for those most in need.

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