Physician organizations have suggested specific alternatives to Medicare's payment formula, which plans to reduce physician pay by 29.5 percent in 2012, according to an American Medical News report.
House lawmakers heard testimony from organization members at an Energy and Commerce health subcommittee meeting on May 5. Physicians at the meeting say that lack of action to fix SGR has worsened the payment problem and could reduce availability of care for patients. Dozens of organizations supported the elimination of the SGR and asked Medicare to end the practice of passing stopgap measures to prevent pay cuts mandated by the sustainable growth rate formula.
According to the report, estimates suggest that eliminating the SGR would cost around $300 billion over a 10-year period. The American Medical Association suggested the following three steps to create an SGR alternative:
• Eliminate the SGR
• Create a five-year period of positive Medicare payment updates based on practice costs
• Implement multiple payment models designed to improve coordination, quality and appropriateness of care while addressing cost issues
The American Academy of Family Physicians also supported the five-year transition period of pay increases, according to the report. The organization also requested more pay raises for primary care, a specialty that has become less attractive in recent years as reimbursement rates drop.
The AMA's list of payment models included an option for full private contracting between patients and physicians, which would allow patients and physicians to contract freely for Medicare services without penalty. The same fix has been proposed through the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Price, MD (R-Ga.) on May 3.
Read the American Medical News report on the SGR.
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House lawmakers heard testimony from organization members at an Energy and Commerce health subcommittee meeting on May 5. Physicians at the meeting say that lack of action to fix SGR has worsened the payment problem and could reduce availability of care for patients. Dozens of organizations supported the elimination of the SGR and asked Medicare to end the practice of passing stopgap measures to prevent pay cuts mandated by the sustainable growth rate formula.
According to the report, estimates suggest that eliminating the SGR would cost around $300 billion over a 10-year period. The American Medical Association suggested the following three steps to create an SGR alternative:
• Eliminate the SGR
• Create a five-year period of positive Medicare payment updates based on practice costs
• Implement multiple payment models designed to improve coordination, quality and appropriateness of care while addressing cost issues
The American Academy of Family Physicians also supported the five-year transition period of pay increases, according to the report. The organization also requested more pay raises for primary care, a specialty that has become less attractive in recent years as reimbursement rates drop.
The AMA's list of payment models included an option for full private contracting between patients and physicians, which would allow patients and physicians to contract freely for Medicare services without penalty. The same fix has been proposed through the Medicare Patient Empowerment Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Price, MD (R-Ga.) on May 3.
Read the American Medical News report on the SGR.
Related Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
CMS Implements New Policy for Modifier KY Starting Oct. 1
Coding Guidance: Endoscopic Balloon Dilation of Sinuses
AMA Issues Latest Revisions to CPT 2010 Book