Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) released the following statement on Senate passage of a bill to permanently repeal and replace the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula and fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and community health centers.

“This bill ensures that seniors will maintain access to their doctors, finally ending a misguided policy that has threatened to cut Medicare reimbursement rates, an action that would have led many doctors to stop seeing elderly patients.

“The legislation builds on the Affordable Care Act, reimbursing doctors who treat Medicare patients based on the quality of care they provide, not the number of tests and procedures.

“Key provisions in the bill will protect access to health care for children and low-income families by funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program as well as vitally important community health centers. In California, CHIP insures more than 1.6 million children, while community health centers throughout the state serve nearly 3.5 million Californians per year.”

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