With an eye toward finding a permanent fix to the flawed physician payment system, the Senate Finance Committee on May 10 held the first in a series of informal roundtable discussions.
The current “Doc Fix” law that prevented a 27% cut to physician fees is due to expire Dec. 31, a prospect that has caused concern both among physician organizations and members of Congress.
At this first meeting, the Senators hashed over the history of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), and invited four former Medicare officials to join the discussion.
So far, a permanent SGR fix has eluded Congress, noted Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the ranking Republican on the panel. As a result, he explained, “the flawed SGR policy is really a two-part problem. The issue that typically receives our attention is how we pay for a repeal, or temporary fix, of the formula. But the problem we hope to address today is more challenging. How do we move beyond the SGR?”
The four former Medicare officials, including Gail Wilensky, Bruce Vladek, Thomas Scully and Mark McClellan, suggested a range of steps, including liability reform, various bundled payment scenarios and a reduced role of the AMA’s Relative Value Update Committee in setting fees.
The AMA nevertheless issued a statement of support for the bipartisan effort, and reminded the senators that “the 14 short-term patches Congress has put in place since 2002 to delay, rather than permanently fix this problem have put patients at risk.”
Click here for more, including a video of the event and the statements of the former Medicare directors.