Representatives from the American Medical Association and Medical Group Management Association sent letters to House Ways and Means Committee chairs Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Wally Herger (R-Calif.) to suggest alternatives to the current Medicare sustainable growth rate, according to a Healthcare Payer News report.
In the AMA letter, James L. Madara, MD, executive vice president of the AMA, laid out a number of payment proposals that included rewarding physicians for quality and efficiency, developing new models of payment and increasing patient involvement in care decisions while addressing current regulatory hurdles.
The AMA suggested that Medicare create a "menu" of different payment reforms and models during a transition away from SGR. The payment models should be broadened from current shared savings and ACO programs to include bundled payments, performance-based payments, global and condition-specific payments and warranties for care. The application to participate in these programs should be ongoing, the AMA said.
The MGMA pointed out the contrast in the increases in total operating costs per full-time physician and payment increases distributed by Congress in its overrides of SGR. Since 2001, physician costs have risen approximately 57 percent; Medicare payment updates are only 2.9 percent greater than they were over 10 years ago.
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In the AMA letter, James L. Madara, MD, executive vice president of the AMA, laid out a number of payment proposals that included rewarding physicians for quality and efficiency, developing new models of payment and increasing patient involvement in care decisions while addressing current regulatory hurdles.
The AMA suggested that Medicare create a "menu" of different payment reforms and models during a transition away from SGR. The payment models should be broadened from current shared savings and ACO programs to include bundled payments, performance-based payments, global and condition-specific payments and warranties for care. The application to participate in these programs should be ongoing, the AMA said.
The MGMA pointed out the contrast in the increases in total operating costs per full-time physician and payment increases distributed by Congress in its overrides of SGR. Since 2001, physician costs have risen approximately 57 percent; Medicare payment updates are only 2.9 percent greater than they were over 10 years ago.
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