Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) sent her “doc fix” proposal to the Congressional supercomittee yesterday to amend Medicare’s physician payment system, according to a report from The Hill.
The proposal would replace a 27.4 percent cut to physician payments, which are scheduled to begin Jan. 1, with a six-year transition period with fixed payment updates. HHS would be responsible for developing at least four payment systems physicians could choose from.
Under Rep. Schwartz’s proposal, payments would remain flat in 2012 and increase annually by 0.5 percent for specialists from 2013-2016. Generalists would see a 2.5 percent annual bump in an effort to attract more medical school graduates into primary care.
The proposal also discourages the fee-for-service system. Starting in 2018, physicians who still use the FFS system will see gradual cuts to reimbursement of up to 5 percent by 2021.
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