Provider groups are pushing Congress to replace the formula Medicare uses to reimburse physicians and eliminate other regulatory burdens.
In a letter a to House Ways and Means committee chairman Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) — who invited comments from providers — the Medical Group Management Association encouraged Congress to repeal the sustainable growth rate system of reimbursing physicians.
Echoing solutions shared by many payment experts, MGMA said Congress should “provide stable payments for a period of several years to allow testing of different payment and delivery models, and then allow for a transition to new models,” such as accountable care organizations, bundled payment initiatives, medical homes and other approaches.
Nursing homes have much to gain by participating in these payment models, experts say. Acute-care providers increasingly are looking to partner with post-acute care facilities to reduce costs.
In its own letter to Camp, the American Medical Association advocated for similar reforms and asked Congress to allow antitrust protections, much like the protections offered to Medicare Shared Savings Program participants, to providers that want to experiment with alternative payment models.
Click here to read the full MGMA letter. To read the AMA letter, click here.
