Schwartz blasts GOP’s permanent ‘doc fix’ bill

“If we repeal SGR, we should use the opportunity to implement a new payment system,” she added.

{mosads}Republicans released their plan last month. It would restructure Medicare’s current payment system by directing the program to develop new quality standards with input from providers.

Doctors would ultimately be encouraged to migrate to new payment models based on quality.

Schwartz’s bill would require most doctors to choose from a tested menu of new delivery models. Some would be permitted to stay in an updated “fee-for-service” system if a transition is not feasible.

Neither side has suggested pay-fors, and Republicans have described their proposal as still in progress.

“We have made great progress, and the committee continues to seek stakeholder input as the legislative framework evolves,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said in a statement last month.

The estimated cost of a permanent “doc fix” is cheaper than it’s been before at $140 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.