Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House

Letter

Rep. Todd Young (R-IN9) sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday encouraging him to strike a deal with the Senate to extend Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula (SGR) patch. Failure to extend the SGR patch would result in a 27.4% cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians, and could lead to many physicians dropping seniors covered by Medicare as patients.

"Fixing this Medicare payment issue is one of the most important things we have to do before the end of the year," said Young. "Our seniors can't afford for partisanship to lead to inaction."

In the letter to Boehner, Young echoed those same sentiments and noted the hardship that could be place on Hoosiers who depend on Medicare.

"Seniors should not have to worry about finding a new physician willing to accept Medicare," wrote Young. "I--on behalf of Indiana seniors--encourage you to make this a top priority."

The full text of the letter is below:

December 6, 2011

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
U.S. Capitol

Dear Speaker Boehner:

As we wrap up legislative business for 2011, I wanted to thank you for your leadership over the course of the past year. Namely, I think you have led in a manner that respects the wide range of viewpoints held by members of this body--and by extension, the constituents we serve--and encourages our input in the process. It is that openness to input that leads me to write to you today.

Because we have a large number of seniors in our southern Indiana district, I am concerned about the possible effects of failing to renew the patch for Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula. As I know you are aware, failure to act by the end of this year would result in a net cut of 27.4% in payments to Medicare providers. As a result, physicians would lose money by seeing Medicare patients, and many might refuse to see them altogether.

When it comes to protecting our seniors and their health care, I know you share my concern. Seniors should not have to worry about finding a new physician willing to accept Medicare. As you continue to negotiate with the Senate on numerous end-of-the-year issues, I--on behalf of Indiana seniors--encourage you to make this a top priority.

In Service,

Todd C. Young

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