Docs’ Groups Eye Lame Duck Session For SGR Overhaul
Doctors' groups say the cost estimate for changing the formula to pay Medicare providers has never been lower but differences over how to fund the change might still block action, Politico reports.
Politico Pro:
Lame-Duck Session Seen As Last Best Chance On SGR
The upcoming lame-duck session of Congress could be the last best chance for a permanent doc fix, health policy lobbyists and Hill aides said Thursday. (Wheaton, 11/6)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Pay Cut Looms Despite Positive Steps In CMS Rule, Doc Groups Say
Physicians cheered and jeered parts of a lengthy final rule (PDF) the CMS issued last week that includes Medicare's 2015 physician fee schedule and also revises the agency's policies on telehealth and paying different rates for the same service depending on where it was delivered. Looming over all of it, however, was the potential that physician payments will be subject to a 21.2% cut driven by Medicare's sustainable growth-rate payment formula on April 1 unless Congress intervenes. (Robeznieks, 11/6)