February 7, 2014
News that lawmakers have released a plan that would permanently fix the sustainable growth rate received coverage in a few major US newspapers, and was widely covered in the beltway media. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle praised the deal, as did some medical associations, including the American Medical Association. AMA president Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven is quoted in many of the articles. However, many sources point out that lawmakers must still find a way to pay for the bill.
The Los Angeles Times (2/7, Levey) reports, “In a rare bipartisan agreement,” legislators “have settled on a plan to fix Medicare’s system for paying physicians, potentially ending years of uncertainty that often held up fees for” physicians who care for elderly patients. However, this “proposed fix still must be paid for,” which means that lawmakers still have to “come up with as much as $150 billion in savings from elsewhere in the budget.” Dr. Hoven said, “This legislation is the product of months of unprecedented bipartisan, bicameral work to reach this landmark agreement.”
The Wall Street Journal (2/7, Radnofsky, Subscription Publication) reports that in a statement, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), said, “These negotiations are never easy, but we fought hard to develop the strongest, most effective policy to protect seniors’ access to their doctors, and I’m pleased we have a bipartisan agreement.” According to Upton, “There is still much work left to do, but I look forward to building on this milestone.”
The Washington Times (2/7, Howell) quotes Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) as saying, “This legislation today provides stability for physicians so they will no longer face the uncertainty of massive cuts, but also begins the process of improving how we pay for medical care to focus on positive results for seniors.”
Modern Healthcare (2/6, Zigmond, Subscription Publication) reports that in a statement, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said, “Congress has spent a decade lurching from one ‘doc fix’ to the next, creating a new, unnecessary threat to seniors’ care each time. Enough is enough.” Baucus added, “This proposal would bring that cycle to an end and fix the broken system.”
The National Journal (2/7, Subscription Publication) reports that the legislation “would repeal the SGR formula and would institute five years of annual updates of 0.5 percent to Medicare physicians’ pay.” Additionally, “if it were to pass, the compromise legislation as currently written would create a program and quality measures to evaluate performance and reward providers who improve health outcomes, and it adds incentives for care coordination for patients with chronic conditions.”
The Hill (2/7, Viebeck) “Healthwatch” blog reports that in a statement, Dr. Hoven said, “Continuing the cycle of short-term patches by merely addressing the 2014 cut that is imminent on April 1 without solving the underlying problem would be fiscally irresponsible and further undermine the Medicare program.” Dr. Hoven added, “It is time for action to repeal the SGR and establish a transition to a new more stable Medicare physician payment policy to better serve America’s senior citizens.”
The Kaiser Health News (2/7, Carey) reports that the bill “does not include funding for a package of Medicare policies – known as extenders – that include items such as additional funding for therapy services, ambulance services and rural hospitals and a program that allows low-income people to keep their Medicaid coverage as they transition into employment and earn more money.” The article points out that “the extenders were part of the package Senate Finance approved” late last year.
CQ (2/7, Ethridge, Subscription Publication) points out that “the bill would let the Department of Health and Human Services collect information from providers and suppliers to help with accurate valuation of service-level payments in the fee schedule, and provide $2 million annually for providers who submit the requested information.”
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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