The Senate has passed legislation that increases the federal debt limit by $1.8 trillion and includes a “pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) amendment. The amendment exempts $82 billion of the $210 billion cost to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) from having to be paid for under congressional budget rules. The House is scheduled to consider the bill next week. PAYGO follows the principle that the government must pay for what it buys, requiring all new policies that reduce revenues or expand entitlement spending be offset by corresponding spending cuts or tax increases. Prior to the Senate’s vote, the Academy got an update on the status of the SGR fix in a meeting that included staff from the House leadership and the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees.

The Senate will likely take up the second part of the two-part SGR fix after the President’s Day recess. Physician groups including the Academy will press the Senate to pass H.R. 3961, which is a permanent repeal of the SGR. The 21 percent Medicare physician pay cut scheduled for March 1 is looming, so Congress has little time to decide and act on a fix. Write your senators and tell them to fix Medicare physician payments, or call them using the AMA’s toll-free grassroots hotline at 800.833.6354!