BREAKING NEWS: Deal Reached in Congress on SGR Physician Payment Issue

According to breaking industry news reports, a bipartisan team of negotiators in Congress from both the Senate and House of Representatives has concluded a deal to resolve a thorny physician reimbursement issue related to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) for Medicare physician payment
Feb. 6, 2014

This just in: according to a report by David Pittman, Washington correspondent for MedPage Today, "Physicians will get a 0.5-percent pay increase each year for five years under a deal by a bipartisan team of House and Senate negotiators [in the U.S. Congress] to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician payment under Medicare."

As Pittman has just reported, "The deal announced Thursday combines the work of three congressional committees, as Democrats and Repubicans have worked together for nearly a year to draft legislation that repeals the SGR."

Importantly, as Pittman reports,"The bill, which will need the approval of both chambers, does not outline how Congress will pay for a full repeal--which is likely to fall between $120 billion and $150 billion [in total cost]. However, with a final bill in hand, lawmakers can pin down a final price tag and focus their attention on paying for it."

The full story can be read here.

Healthcare Informatics will provide updates as new developments occur in this ongoing story.

About the Author

Mark Hagland

Mark Hagland

Mark Hagland has been Editor-in-Chief since January 2010, and was a contributing editor for ten years prior to that. He has spent 30 years in healthcare publishing, covering every major area of healthcare policy, business, and strategic IT, for a wide variety of publications, as an editor, writer, and public speaker. He is the author of two books on healthcare policy and innovation, and has won numerous national awards for journalistic excellence.

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