Congress Wants to Reform Medicare Reimbursement, They Really Do

Congressional leaders agree that the SGR formula, the legislated formula used to calculate ongoing cuts in Medicare reimbursement to physicians, has to go. But passing a permanent fix has been stymied, in part, by the nature of the legislative calendar, said Congressman Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX) yesterday to MedPage Today. Congress has consistently had trouble getting its act together to pass a reform bill before the August recess, Burgess implied to the medical news source.

Several medical societies, including the AMA, recently submitted their SGR alternatives to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which requested the proposals in late March, reported Medscape's Robert Lowes 3 days ago. The committee, which held a public hearing on the topic yesterday, is in charge of spearheading some type of Medicare-reimbursement reform measure.

The current stop-gap measure to suspend the SGR formula, enacted in December, delays the legislated cut until January 1 of next year, at which time Medicare reimbursement will drop by a practice-shocking 30%.

SGR = sustainable growth rate.

Photo of weathered can from magannie at Flickr.