New MedPAC Reports: Physician Medicare Reimbursement, Sustainable Growth Rate, and P4P

MEDICAL PAYMENT ADVISORY COMMISSION (MEDPAC) REPORTS

DEAL WITH PRACTICE EXPENSE METHODOLOGY, SGR AND P4P: 

MedPac reported to Congress on a variety of issues in March of 2007. MedPac predicted that the new practice expense methodology will produce a 7% E&M increase, but an 8-9% decrease for major imaging procedures by 2010. MedPac concluded that Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) methodology is flawed and will continue to produce Medicare reimbursement declines unless revised.

While recommending a payment update (i.e., increase) for 2008, despite SGR projected decreases, and implementation of quality payment initiatives, MedPac nevertheless concluded that the prime indicators of Medicare physician reimbursement adequacy, i.e., participating physician members and beneficiary service volume, are stable, and concluded that any Medicare reimbursement update should be offset by expected gains in physician productivity of 1.7%, stating “Physicians, like other providers, taxpayers and firms that fund Medicare, should be expected to increase their productivity each year.”  

Access to the complete report is available at the MedPac website: http://www.medpac.gov/.,

which is also accessible through the Blog links.