{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://reichert.house.gov/press-release/reichert-statement-sgr-provision-budget", "Reichert Statement on SGR Provision in Budget", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Dave Reichert", "R000578", "reichert.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Included in today\u2019s vote on the bipartisan budget deal was legislation to temporarily prevent Medicare physician payment cuts and extend important Medicare provisions that are set to expire.\u00a0\n\u201cToday, my colleagues and I voted to protect seniors\u2019 access to their doctors by preventing a nearly 24% cut to physician payments scheduled for January 1st,\u201d said U.S. Congressman Dave Reichert.\u00a0 \u201cI have heard repeatedly from my constituents that the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula used to update Medicare physician payments each year is flawed and must be repealed.\u00a0 Today\u2019s vote averts the SGR pay cut for three months, allowing time for bipartisan work on a permanent solution that began in the Ways and Means Committee this morning to continue.\u00a0 I look forward to working with my colleagues on providing necessary stability to doctors and patients and also ensuring that the system\u2019s primary focus is on the quality of care those patients receive.\u201d\nBackground\nThe Sustainable Growth Rate formula (SGR), was established in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and determines the amount by which Medicare payments to physicians are updated each year.\u00a0 SGR limits growth in spending on physician services to the rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).\u00a0 As the rate of growth in physician spending has consistently exceeded GDP in recent years, the SGR formula has called for a cut in physician payments in each of the last 10 years.\u00a0 Congress has been forced to intervene to avert these cuts each year. \u00a0For 2014, the SGR formula calls for a 23.7% cut to take effect on January 1st.\u00a0\nIn addition to passing today\u2019s temporary measure to avert the Medicare physician pay cut, the Ways and Means Committee held a full committee mark-up on legislation (H.R. 2810) to permanently repeal and replace the SGR.\u00a0 The bill will move away from the current fee for service model that pays based on the volume of services, to a system focused on improving the quality of care and outcomes for patients.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://reichert.house.gov/press-release/reichert-statement-sgr-provision-budget"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2355910148471594, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}