In 1998, Medicare enacted the sustainable growth rate (SGR) which would slowly bring down Medicare physician compensation. However, each year, it gets reversed by Congress. Now, instead of a gradual decline, the implementation of SGR would result in a 21.2% pay cut for Medicare docs.
Before the Thanksgiving holiday, however, Congress once again reversed the SGR. Megan McArdle gives some solid reasons of why the reform of the SGR should be included in any health reform bill.
[...] was also supposed to slow the growth of physician compensation over time. Every year, however, Congress overturns the SGR and physician compensation does not decrease. Thus, the Medicare cuts are likely optimistic. [...]