The new Democrat leadership in Congress failed to bring several important bills to the floor for a vote in a timely manner last year, including a fix for Medicare physician reimbursement rates. The budget process was sloppy, with spending levels well above the President’s budget requests.

The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act, which passed the House with my support and was signed into law by the President, is a compromise that extends SCHIP for 15 months with additional funding for states that are expected to exhaust current budgets. It also prevents scheduled cuts to Medicare physicians for six months and provides a 0.5% increase.

While these are not permanent solutions, this bill will provide needed funding until a more comprehensive agreement can be reached. Last year, I consistently supported a 33% increase in funding for SCHIP without expanding the program to illegal immigrants and children of upper-income families.  We must make sure that the needs of children in this country who do not have access to quality health care are met first.

The Ensuring the Future Physician Workforce Act of 2007, which I have co-sponsored, would replace the current reimbursement formula with a new formula that more accurately reflects the cost of providing care. This new formula will help physicians cover the costs of providing care to our nation’s seniors. Now is the time to encourage doctors to see new Medicare patients, not discourage them.