Legislation that would permanently repeal Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV).
The two representatives submitted the bill a day after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report on February 5 that slashed its estimate of the cost to permanently repeal the SGR from $245 billion to $138 billion, according to a statement from Schwartz.
"For over a decade, this policy has failed taxpayers, Medicare beneficiaries, and those on the front lines of patient care," Schwartz said. "I look forward to working with Representative Heck and my Republican and Democratic colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to pass legislation this year that fully repeals the SGR."
Schwartz and Heck's Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act is intended to accomplish the following:
- Permanently repeal the SGR formula
- Avert cuts of more than 30% to physician reimbursement scheduled for January 1, 2014, and maintain 2012 payment levels through the end of this year
- Provide annual positive payment updates of 0.5% for all physicians for four years
- Identify a variety of payment models for providers across medical specialties, practice types, and geographic regions
- Provide a new, alternative fee-for-service system that includes incentives for care coordination, management of high-risk patients, and quality and cost-reduction initiatives
- Ensure long-term stability in the Medicare physician payment system through predictable updates that accurately reflect the cost and value of providing healthcare services in coordinated care models
