02/08/2014    

HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

Bipartisan Plan Calls for SGR Repeal, 0.5% Increases to 2018; Then Value-based Care

 

Congressional lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a bicameral, bipartisan agreement to repeal Medicare's physician payment formula and replace it with a system that would provide stable payment updates for five years and shift Medicare to a system based on value versus volume of care. The deal is the product of three congressional committees—Senate Finance, House Ways and Means, and House Energy and Commerce—working to eliminate Medicare's sustainable growth-rate formula and offer incentives for Medicare-participating physicians to move to alternative payment models.

 

Called the SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act, the legislation would permanently repeal the SGR and provide an annual update of 0.5% from 2014 through 2018. The 2018 payment rates would be maintained through 2023 so physicians have time to receive additional payments through a merit-based incentive payment system.

 

Source: Jessica Zigmond, Modern Healthcare [2/6/14]