House panel to share framework for Medicare payment overhaul

{mosads}The proposal would make dramatic changes to healthcare delivery within Medicare, gradually tying payments to performance and efficiency measures.

The draft did not include hard numbers or likely offsets — details that could come out Tuesday.

Medicare payments are currently determined by the sustainable growth formula (SGR), a faulty system that orders annual reimbursement cuts to providers.

Congress has delayed most of the cuts over time, resulting in a pile of reductions that threatens Medicare providers with a nearly 30 percent pay cut unless lawmakers routinely intervene.

The last temporary “doc fix” was negotiated as part of the fiscal cliff deal and expires on Dec. 31.

Republican committee leaders say they hope to pass a permanent fix this year. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who leads the Ways and Means subcommittee on Health, said this month that the process is about half complete.

Enthusiasm for reform has been high since the Congressional Budget Office unexpectedly slashed its cost estimate for repealing the SGR by more than $100 billion.