Physician fee legislation
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) introduced a bill July 24 to revamp the physician fee schedule beginning Jan. 1. HR 5866 would replace the sustainable-growth-rate formula CMS uses to calculate physician payments with the Medicare economic index minus 1%. The current formula calls for a 4.6% decrease in payments for 2007, while Burgess' proposal would increase compensation by 1.8%. The bill also includes provisions to develop quality measures that could be used in pay-for-performance initiatives, and calls for a one-year delay in imaging cuts mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act...