Contents tagged with payment
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AAFP launches renewed push to block Medicare payment cut and repeal SGR
AAFP launches renewed push to block Medicare payment cut and repeal SGR
posted 01.24.12
With the U.S. Congress back in session after its holiday break, AAFP has launched a renewed campaign to … more
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Congress reaches deal on SGR extension
Congress reaches deal on SGR extension
posted 12.22.11
According to multiple news sources, Congress has reached a last-minute compromise that will avert the 27.4 percent cut in Medicare physician … more
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Congress fails to pass Medicare pay patch, CMS to hold claims
Congress fails to pass Medicare pay patch, CMS to hold claims
posted 12.21.11
The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a Senate-approved bill that would have provided a short-term fix to … more
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Congress likely to approve one-year SGR extension
Congress likely to approve one-year SGR extension
posted 12.13.11
As Congress prepares to wrap up work before the holidays, there are several pending pieces of legislation that may delay their … more
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Supercommittee’s failure leaves little time to avert Medicare cut
You’ve probably heard by now that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the “supercommittee,” failed in its efforts to reach a budget compromise. The 12 congressional lawmakers had until Thanksgiving to formulate a plan to trim at least $1.2 trillion in federal spending, and health care advocates hoped they’d also include a fix for the flawed Medicare payment formula, the SGR, in this plan.
This wasn’t wishful thinking; years of temporary fixes weigh heavily on the deficit. Plus, the committee had been granted special authorization to find and score savings wherever they could. Up until this point, insiders promised that committee members were seriously considering including an SGR fix, which would prevent a planned 27.4-percent cut in Medicare physician payment come Jan. 1. Not only is this cut still on the table, automatic reductions triggered by the supercommittee’s inaction will cut another 2 percent in Medicare payment in 2013.
A health care lobbyist told the Associated Press that “lawmakers of both parties wanted to deal with the cuts to doctors, but a fundamental partisan divide over tax increases blocked progress of any kind.”
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HHSC proposes eliminating Medicaid payments of Medicare Part B coinsurance, deductible for dual-eligible patients
HHSC proposes eliminating Medicaid payments of Medicare Part B coinsurance, deductible for dual-eligible patients
Submit comments on the rules before Nov. 21
posted 11.16.11
As part of an effort … more
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The super charge
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, released the interim charges for the standing committees of the House of Representatives. As he said in the accompanying letter, these charges will set the stage for legislation considered during the 83rd Texas Legislature, which convenes in January 2013.
Of those that may affect family medicine, one assigned to the House Committee on Public Health stands out for its sheer immensity. It directs the committee to:
- Examine the adequacy of the primary care workforce in Texas, especially considering: the projected increase in need (from an aging population and expanded coverage through federal health care reform), and cuts to workforce-building programs such as graduate medical education and physician loan repayment programs.
- Study the potential impact of medical school innovations, new practice models, alternative reimbursement strategies, expanded roles for physician extenders, and greater utilization of telemedicine.
- Make recommendations to increase patient access to primary care and address geographic disparities.
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Practice Resources
Practice resources
Managing a busy practice is no simple task, whether you have one physician or a large group practice. TAFP is here to help. We’ve assembled a set of resources to provide you … more
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Cover: Trading Volume for Value
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Trading Volume for Value
Can we solve the country’s health care cost crisis by aligning payment incentives with desired outcomes in a new era of austerity?
As worry builds over the … more
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Payment Reform recap: Demonstrating value
Following the most basic model for success in business means minimizing overhead and maximizing revenues, Dr. Mark Laitos pointed out at TAFP’s Payment Reform Summit last Saturday. For doctors in private practice and other health care providers, this means billing for as many relative value units, or RVUs, as possible at the best conversion rate, and maximizing ancillary revenue, when possible.
And while this strategy is simple enough, Laitos said it has reduced the “proud field” of medicine to “conveyor belt medicine.” Worse, as payers – including health insurers, employers, and patients to some extent – strive to minimize RVUs, the solution to the cost crisis in a fee-for-service system is to slash payment to physicians and deny care to patients.
Of course neither patients nor doctors (nor the organizations that advocate for them) would allow this to happen considering the scale needed to rein in escalating health care costs. The solution, then, as speaker after speaker suggested, is to trade the volume-based model for a value-based model. This is also the cover story of the latest Texas Family Physician magazine.
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