Medicare: Bipartisan Bill Would Make 'Doc Fix' Permanent

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would make the so-called "doc fix" permanent, pegging Medicare reimbursement rates to patient outcomes rather than the sustainable growth rate.

A bipartisan U.S. House bill would end the cycle of so-called "doc fixes" that have averted Medicare reimbursement cuts since rate hikes were linked to the sustainable growth rate in 1997.

Legislators most recently enacted a bypass of a looming rate cut last month as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations, averting a 27% pay cut for Medicare payments to physicians.

Now Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Joe Heck (R-Nev.) want to peg those payments to patient outcomes, replacing the SGR and the fee-for-service model that dominates U.S. medicine, The Hill reports [1].