Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)

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The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is now reviewing a highly-anticipated Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule to implement major Medicare physician payment reform provisions included in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).  As previously reported, MACRA repealed the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and…

Today President Obama signed into law H.R. 2, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (MACRA), which reforms Medicare payment policy for physician services and adopts a series of policy changes affecting a wide range of providers and suppliers. Most notably, MACRA permanently repeals the statutory Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, achieving a goal that has eluded Congress for years. Now, after a period of stable payment updates, MACRA will link physician payment updates to quality, value measurements, and participation in alternative payment models.
Continue Reading President Obama Signs MACRA: Permanently Reforms Medicare Physician Reimbursement Framework, Includes Other Health Policy Provisions

The Senate has adjourned until April 13, 2015 without taking action on the House-approved Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, which would repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, reform Medicare physician payments, and make other policy changes.  In the interim, the 21.2% physician fee schedule cut mandated by the SGR will be triggered…

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has released its annual recommendations to Congress on Medicare policies, including Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payment updates and a status report on the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs. The following are highlights of the recommendations for 2016 (many of which were recommended previously):
Continue Reading MedPAC Report to Congress on Medicare Policy

On December 16, 2014, Congress gave final approval to H.R. 5771, a tax extender bill that includes the “Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014.” The ABLE Act provisions allow individuals with disabilities to establish tax free savings accounts to pay for qualified expenses (e.g. medical, post-secondary education, housing, and transportation expenses).

In early April, Reed Smith hosted an enlightening conference entitled “Reed Smith 2014 Washington Health Care Conference: Focus on Post-Acute Care” in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together a panel of experts to discuss episodic care, bundling models, and alternative payment and delivery systems, as well as other speakers to present from the perspective of investors and Capitol Hill. The conference was capped with a stimulating keynote address from American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Dr. Norman Ornstein on the current polarized nature of American politics, particularly in regards to national health policy.
Continue Reading Highlights from Reed Smith’s Post-Acute Care Conference

On April 1, 2014, President Obama signed into law H.R. 4302, the “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” (“the Act”). The Act includes a one-year Medicare physician fee schedule fix that averts a nearly 24 percent payment cut set for April 1, 2014, but which falls far short of earlier hopes for full repeal of the current sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. The Act also includes numerous other Medicare payment and policy changes, including skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing provisions, reforms to the physician fee schedule relative valuation process, a new framework for clinical laboratory payments, a variety of changes impacting imaging services, changes in the exceptions for long term care hospitals, and extension of certain expiring provisions. In other areas, the bill includes a one-year delay in the transition to ICD-10, changes to the timetable for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts, and “front-loading” of the 2024 Medicare sequestration reduction.
Continue Reading President Signs Medicare Physician Fee Schedule/SGR Patch with Numerous Health Policy Provisions

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has released its annual report to Congress on Medicare payment policy, including payment update recommendations for all the major Medicare fee-for-service payment (FFS) systems, limited recommendations related to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, and a status report on the Medicare Part D program. The following are highlights of the…

The bipartisan leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Ways & Means Committee, and Senate Finance Committee have released a consensus Medicare physician fee schedule reform bill expected to be considered by Congress before the latest temporary payment patch expires at the end of March. Highlights of H.R. 4015, the SGR Repeal and …

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has raised the specter that pending legislation to reform the Medicare physician fee schedule statutory update formula could increase the likelihood that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) mechanism would be triggered – potentially resulting in as much as $0.6 billion in Medicare provider cuts during …

On January 9, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is holding a hearing on “The Extenders Policies: What Are They and How Should They Continue Under a Permanent SGR (Sustainable Growth Rate) Repeal Landscape?” The so-called extenders are measures that secure the continuation of various temporary Medicare payment and policy revisions impacting hospitals,…

On December 26, 2013, President Obama signed into law H.J. Res. 59, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which includes the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 (“the Act”). In addition to establishing federal budget targets for fiscal years (FYs) 2014 and 2015, the Act includes a number of provisions impacting the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Most notably, the Act provides a short-term reprieve from a looming Medicare physician fee schedule cut while lawmakers work to finalize a longer-term solution. It also extends Medicare provider payment cuts under existing sequestration authority for two years and makes a variety of other policy changes. The Act’s major Medicare and Medicaid provisions are summarized in our full post.
Continue Reading President Signs 2-Year Funding Bill with Medicare SGR Patch, Sequestration Extension for Medicare Providers

On December 10, 2013, CMS published its final rule updating Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS) rates and polices for calendar year (CY) 2014, which includes a 20.1% across-the-board cut in PFS rates in 2014 (down from 24.4% projected under the proposed rule). The cuts are largely due to the statutory Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) update formula, although lawmakers are seeking agreement on legislation to block the automatic cuts. The rule also includes a number of significant Part B policy changes, including the following highlights:
Continue Reading CMS Updates Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Other Part B Policies for CY 2014

On October 16, 2013, the House and Senate approved H.R. 2775, the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014. Under the resolution, the federal government was reopened, after being closed since October 1, 2013. The resolution also funds government operations through January 15, 2014 and suspends the debt limit through February 7, 2014. In the only health…

On July 19, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its proposed rule updating Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS) rates and polices for calendar year (CY) 2014. CMS projects that PFS payments will be reduced by approximately 24.4% in 2014, largely due to the statutory Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) update formula (although Congress is expected to eventually take action to block the automatic cuts, as it has in the past). The rule also includes a number of significant policy proposals, including the following highlights:Continue Reading CMS Proposes Updates to Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Other Part B Policies for CY 2014