There is an evolving culture in Washington, D.C., one that is growing in popularity, both inside of Congress and out, and changing the standoff posture of the past. It involves elected officials from both sides of the isle, includes a letter signed by 114 members and aims to assure the American public that positive change is coming to the nation’s capital. And after this week’s “doc fix” victory they are even more resolute in their mission moving forward.
After years of being handed off to an incoming Congress, the stop-gap measure known as the “doc fix” has finally been addressed. Initially, the Slow Growth Rate (SGR) was implemented in an effort to keep pace with current economic rates as a method of payment to doctors servicing Medicare recipients, and though it worked for a time, the SGR became a less-than-optimal method for payment. But instead of creating a practical plan to deal with rising rates of health care and insufficient funds, Congress predictably played partisan politics and, in 2003, passed the buck by passing the “doc fix”, essentially circumventing payment cuts to keep reimbursement rates acceptable. This “doc fix” happened another 17 times after the initial measure. Tired of the same plays, or perhaps tired of being on losing teams in the eyes of the American public, a few innovative members of Congress decided it was time to call a new play.
{mosads}Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shocked the world by agreeing to fix this problem, but they weren’t without help. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), members of the Problems Solvers Caucus, and several other team-playing representatives were instrumental in building a solid team to garner support and push for a true, comprehensive resolution to a problem that plagued not just Congress, but doctors and seniors alike. With a letter crafted November 6, 2014, to the speaker and minority leader, these 114 problem solvers urged a bipartisan reform for Medicare physician payment. Highlighting the bipartisan work already in motion in the House Energy and Commerce, House Ways and Means, and Senate Finance Committees, the bipartisan-supported letter was an instigating factor in resolving the “doc fix.” These House members provided the support necessary to craft a compromise, assuring Boehner and Pelosi that they “stand ready to support a bipartisan solution.”
The overwhelming support to push comprehensive reform through Congress this week was historic for this Congress, and for our No Labels Problem Solvers, and is an indication that not only are we capable of teamwork, but we are ready for it. This SGR victory symbolizes a new kind of problem solver play calling, where the winners are not simply Republicans or Democrats, but Americans. This week, the first step toward victory went to the doctors and their Medicare patients. But let’s not stop there. Republicans and Democrats have shown that they can work together to create winning outcomes for their constituents – but they must be willing to change the way the game is played. We hope this bipartisan effort has a ripple effect, and demonstrates just what the problem solvers are capable of when dedicated to creating tangible solutions.
We applaud the efforts of the problem solvers in Congress, and we want to let them know, loud and clear, that we are ready to change the game.
McLarty and Cardenas are vice chairmen of No Labels.