A bill to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula was reintroduced into the House and Senate March 19.
H.R. 1470 , the SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act, is described as “nearly identical” to the bicameral, bipartisan bill that was passed in the House in April 2014, with a spokesman for the House Ways & Means Committee describing the changes as technical in nature.
The bill’s introduction comes as the latest so-called “doc fix” patch set to expire on March 31, with a physician payment cut of 21% set to go into effect on April 1. Congress previously has passed 17 patches.
In addition to repealing the SGR, the bill includes a 0.5% pay increase per year for the next 5 years; consolidates existing quality programs into a single value-based performance program; incentivizes physicians to use alternate payment models that focus on care coordination and prevention to improve quality and reduce costs; and pushes more transparency of Medicare data for both patients and providers to help them improve care.
It does not address any how to pay for SGR repeal, nor does it include any language to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which expires in 2015.
Dr. David Fleming , president of the American College of Physicians, said in a statement that the bill “achieves ACP’s top priorities for physician payment reform,” and “strongly urges” its passage before the current patch expires.
A March 16 letter , signed by more than 750 organizations, including national and state medical societies, was sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), calling for passage of last year’s SGR repeal.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) cosponsored the bill in the House with Republican and Democratic leadership in the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees and the chairmen and ranking members of their health subcommittees. The Senate version of the bill was introduce by Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
