House Passes the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009" (H.R. 3961)
November 16, 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009" (H.R. 3961) by a 243-183 vote on Thursday, November 11.
This legislation would stop the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut that is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2010, and would replace the SGR formula with a new payment formula. According to H.R. 3961, the SGR would be replaced with a new formula that:
Removes items such as drugs and laboratory services not paid directly to practitioners from spending targets
Allows the volume of most services to grow at the rate of gross domestic product plus one percentage point per year
Allows the volume of primary and preventive care services to grow at GDP plus two percent per year
Encourages coordinated, innovative care by allowing accountable care organizations to be responsible for their own growth paths – irrespective of reductions or increases that apply elsewhere in the system.
The Congressional Budget Office scored the bill at $210 billion over 10 years. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
