On September 13, 2013, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report estimating that it would cost $175 billion over ten years to enact the Energy and Commerce Committee’s proposal to repeal and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR).  A copy of the CBO report is available here.  Background information on the SGR is available here.

On Wednesday, July 31st, the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed H.R. 2810, a legislative proposal to repeal the SGR formula and impose a new mechanism by which Medicare would reimburse physicians and other health care professionals.  (More information on the Energy and Commerce Committee proposal is available here.)  H.R. 2810 did not include any offsets.  The House Ways and Means Committee, which also has jurisdiction over the issue, and the Senate Finance Committee are in the process of developing their own legislative proposals to address this issue.