Hearing raises questions about how to replace Medicare's SGR formula

Medpage Today: Repealing SGR Raises Questions For Congress
Opinions on what to replace Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula with and how to get there vary greatly, comments during a Thursday hearing showed. Lawmakers looking to pull the trigger on finally doing away with the SGR, which is used to determine physician payments, must iron out many of the details that came to light during a hearing Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. An outline of a Republican-offered plan to repeal and replace the SGR released last week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Ways and Means Committee looked remarkably similar to that of bipartisan bills offered in the past. The plan would repeal the SGR and provide statutorily defined payment rates for a period of years before moving to a payment model that rewards quality and efficiency (Pittman, 2/14).