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On March 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4015 to repeal the SGR formula by a vote of 238-181. To “pay for” SGR repeal the legislation delays the Affordable Care Act requirement that individuals buy health insurance (also known as the individual mandate). However, it faces an uncertain future as Democrats in the Senate are opposed to using the individual mandate as an offset.
Additionally, the White House released a statement indicating that the administration strongly opposes the SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act because it “includes an offset that would increase health insurance premiums, decrease tax credits, increase the number of uninsured, and shift costs to businesses, workers, and health care providers.” The White House indicated that President Obama would veto the bill.
On March 12, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that delaying the Affordable Care Act individual mandate until 2019 would save $169.5 billion and would more than offset the cost of legislation to repeal the SGR formula, which CBO estimated would cost $138 billion.
On Sunday, March 2, the ASA Board of Directors voted to take “no position at this time” on H.R. 4015/S.2000.
Click here to view the CBO report.
Click here to learn more about the ASA’s position on the SGR repeal and replacement bills.
