State of Medicine: New Bill Would Repeal Medicare SGR Formula

Although Congress temporarily fixed the SGR payment system temporarily, the 23% cut is scheduled to return on November 30, and then an additional 6% in January 2011, resulting in a 29% cut.  Congress is currently out of session for the midterm elections, but will have opportunity to address this after returning in November.

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) has introduced a bill to address the SGR and rural health in a new bill.

The highlights of the bill

 

 

• Repeal the Medicare physician SGR payment system and provide physicians with annual updates based on a more accurate measurement of the increased costs of providing care, known as the “Medicare Economic Index,” or “MEI.”
•  Address geographic payment inequities in Medicare which exist because of another component of the physician payment formula known as the Geographic Practice Cost Indices, or GPCI, and result in lower payments to rural states like Arkansas.
• Provide a 15 percent increase in the number of medical residency training positions supported by Medicare to help add new physicians to our nation’s health care workforce.