From the American Academy of Ophthalmology

More than a decade of instability for physician payments is ending, as the U.S. Senate voted 92-8 Tuesday to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula.

The Senate’s historic vote follows the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives last month. President Barack Obama has said he will sign the legislation.

Repealing the sustainable growth rate has been a top priority for the Academy and a focus of its advocacy efforts.

Congress created the SGR formula in 1997, and initially it meant pay increases. But since a 4.8 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors in 2002, Congress has passed 17 separate laws to prevent additional cuts driven by the SGR formula.

This year’s bill averted a 21 percent cut that was to take effect April 1 and permanently repeals the formula. Furthermore, the bill:

• Guarantees stable annual increases of 0.5 percent starting July 2015 and through December 2019 for all physicians and will provide bonuses to physicians who transition from fee-for-service to other payment models;
• Preserves a value-based fee-for-service system for physicians who are unable to move to an alternative model;
• Provides much needed penalty relief from Medicare quality improvement programs starting in 2019; and
• Reverses CMS’s decision to eliminate global surgery bundled payments.

If you have comments or questions, email asoglin@aao.org.