412 First Street, SE Suite One Washington, D.C. 20003-1804 202 484 2773

September 30, 2014

The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510 / The Honorable Mitchell McConnell
Senate Minority Leader
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510 / The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Ranking Member
Senate Finance Committee
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

RE:Medicare SGR Payment Reform Legislation

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell,Chairmen Wyden and Ranking Member Hatch:

The Coalition of State Medical Societies, representing 158,500 physicians and medical studentsof nine state societies— Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas — ask for your support to pass Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment reform legislation before Jan. 1, 2015, andto find the funding needed to ensure its passage.

We appreciate the bipartisan, bicameral effortby Congress over the past year tocreate a plan to repeal the flawed Medicare SGR formula.The ongoing SGR crisisnot only threatens health care access for millions ofseniors, persons with disabilities, and military families butalso threatens thevery sustainability of the program itself. Medicare cannot work without a solid physician foundation to care for the millions of patients itserves.

We cannot urge you strongly enough to engage now in the pursuit of a long-term funding solution. We ask for you toremain opento an array of potential funding sources, some that you may have opposed in the past. But please remember, these vital funds will accomplish a historic change in America’s health care system.

Page 2, Medicare SGR Payment Reform Legislation

Your members ─ both Republican and Democrat, House membersand senators ─ have done yeomen’s work of crafting a fair and equitable policy piece. We ask for your commitmentto apply the same creativity and urgency to its funding and final approval this year.

This is a critically important opportunity to achieve such a lasting solution and to protect the health of our seniors. Thank you for your work on this critically important matter.

Sincerely,

Coalition of State Medical Societies

Arizona Medical Association

California Medical Association

Florida Medical Association

Louisiana State Medical Society

Medical Society of the State of New York

North Carolina Medical Society

Oklahoma State Medical Society

South Carolina Medical Society

Texas Medical Association