Leavitt: Medicare formula isn't working

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has come out and admitted that Medicare's "sustainable growth rate" formula used to determine physician compensation is more or less broken. In a recent meeting with reporters, Leavitt didn't disclose whether he had an alternative scheme in mind, but conceded that the agency couldn't keep stumbling along making short-term changes to address SGR-related problems. Not only did providers face a 10 percent Medicare cut in 2007--which was put on hold by Congress only until July 2008--but future cuts could hit 15 percent to 20 percent, he noted. It's not clear whether Leavitt will be proposing a new mechanism within the president's budget request for HHS, which will be released during the first week of February--but he did say that generally speaking, he believes that the way to fix this problem will be to find ways to pay more for higher-quality care.

To get more background from Leavitt's speech:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

ALSO: The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted last week for a 1.1 percent increase in Medicare payments for doctors in 2009. Article

Related Articles:
MD groups seek new Medicare rate formula. Report
Physicians winning reimbursement fights. Report
AMA launching campaign to stave off cuts in reimbursement rates. Report
Physicians see expected 10 percent Medicare cut. Report
A different perspective on Medicare cuts. Report
CMS to phase in cost-weighting payments over three years. Report
Physician groups not thrilled with Medicare deal. Report

Post a comment