Larry Bucshon

Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R.-Ind.), a cardiac surgeon and member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, asked Barbara McAneny, M.D., chair of the American Medical Association’s board of trustees, if the AMA could offer “substantial possible pay-fors” to cover the cost  of repealing the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which the Congressional Budget Office estimates as costing about $140 billion over 10 years.

MedPage Today reported that she said: “The AMA stands ready to assist and help by weighing in on any specific suggestions; we don’t really have the ability to give you specific pay-fors, because the devil is in the details.”

Dr. Bucshon, responded with frustration:  “I would implore you for the AMA to reconsider and maybe help us. If someone is going to offer an opinion at the end, you should be part of offering solutions on the front side …. If you are just going to wait and be a critic and not offer solutions yourself, to me it’s not very helpful.”