Does your doc want to be in an ACO?

The answer is likely “It depends.”  To see why this is the case, let us consider the case of some proposed health reforms in Switzerland to force physicians into managed care (MC) networks.  As described in Rischatsch (2015): In 2012, Switzerland held a referendum…aimed at encouraging the nationwide development of MC networks. Among other changes…the legal…

Fixing the “doc fix”

The sustainable growth rate (SGR) was implemented by Congress in1998.  The SGR’s aim was to slowly bring down or at least decellerate Medicare compensation for physicians compensation.  However, each year, it gets reversed by Congress. Now, instead of a gradual decline, the implementation of SGR would  result in about at 25%pay cut for Medicare docs.…

What’s wrong with the SGR?

Why are doctor’s always complaining about the sustainable growth rate (SGR) issue? What is the SGR? The Brookings blog has a nice primer on the SGR. What is the SGR Put in place through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the SGR is a system designed to control the costs of Medicare payments for physicians.…

Regulatory Tsunami?

Medicare is working hard to make sure that doctors are efficiently providing high-quality care. Programs such as the Physician Quality Reporting System (PRQS) and the Value-Based Payment Modifier all are aimed to improve quality and lower cost. The downside of such programs, however, is that the impose reporting burdens on physicians. For instance, Medicare can…

Will P4P work?

In pay-for-performance (P4P) or value-based purchasing (VBP) schemes, health care provider reimbursement rates depend on performance. Physicians can receive bonuses for following best practices, and hospitals can increase reimbursement rates from Medicare if they improve clinical processes and patient satisfaction. As an economist, rewarding good performance with financial payments makes perfect sense. Or does it?…

AMA wants more money for docs

File under “least shocking development of the day”: The American Medical Association opposes cuts to physician salaries. In a letter on Monday, the AMA stated that it expreses: …strong support for the “SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014” (H.R. 4015/S. 2000)…Previous Congresses have spent more than $150 billion over the past…

Doc Fix: 2014 Edition

It’s that time of year.  The time of year where Medicare threatens to cut physician salaries by double digits (in this case 24.4%).  This is no idle threat.  Under current law, CMS is mandated to cut physician salaries under the sustainable growth rate formula.   Its the time of year that physician lobbyists (rightly) complain that…