04/15/2015

Congress Passes SGR Repeal

Yesterday, April 14, the Senate voted 92-8 to approve legislation repealing the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and established a new and permanent payment system for Medicare physicians and providers. The House passed the bill on March 26 by a 392-37 vote.

The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature. President Obama previously indicated he would sign the bill.

This bill:

• Replaces the SGR with an increase of 0.5% in Medicare physician reimbursement starting in July 2015 through December 2015, then an annual increase of 0.5% lasting through 2019.
• Consolidates the reporting programs such as Meaningful Use and several quality reporting programs into a new, merit-based incentive payment system.
• The bill also incentivizes physicians to participate in alternative payment models such as ACO;s.

More details will be provided as they become available.