Congress Reaches Bipartisan Agreement On Funding Medicare Physician Reimbursement To Replace Sustainable Growth Rate Formula

On February 6, 2014, Congress reached a bipartisan agreement on how to replace the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursement rates. Under the agreement, Congress would enact legislation to repeal the SGR and replace it with a system focused on quality, value, and accountability. The legislation will consolidate the three existing Medicare quality programs into a streamlined and improved program that rewards provider organizations who meet performance thresholds and improve care for Medicare beneficiaries.

When it was implemented in 1997, the SGR was intended to result in annual up or down revisions to the physician reimbursement rate . . .