TRIP

Congressional Panel Backs Repeal of SGR

MedPageToday, 2012

passed by Congress before Christmas, is tasked with agreeing on a year-long payroll tax cut extension, an unemployment benefit extension, and an SGR fix.
The current fix will expire at the end of February, at which point a 27% reduction in Medicare payments to physicians will kick in.
The panel is expected to, at a minimum, endorse a shorter-term extension so doctors won't face the nearly-30% pay cut at the start of next month.The shorter-term fix could be one or two years.
It was clear at Wednesday's meeting that there's not a single member on the panel who thinks the SGR formula should be retained.
The formula went into effect in 1997, and soon after the math began dictating cuts in Medicare reimbursement to physicians.
"If we have the inclination and the time, I think we should tackle this overhang problem of the SGR, " Sen.
Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said at Wednesday's hearing, offering up his support for getting rid of the formula altogether.
He said if the panel decided to repeal the SGR, it would not have to have an alternate formula ready to be put in place immediately.
A new formula to determine how to fairly pay doctors for treating Medicare patients could be phased in over several years, he said.
Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), who has already authored a plan to repeal the SGR, again suggested the panel look at savings from winding down the .
In a released Tuesday, the nonpartisan office pegged the 10-year cost of repealing the SGR at $316 billion.