Republicans in the House are expected to vote this week on legislation that would permanently repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) Medicare physician payment formula.
To pay for the SGR fix, the legislation is expected to propose a delay or repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, according to multiple news reports including a Modern Healthcare report.
If the SGR fix legislation is bundled with a bill that would call for the delay or repeal of the individual mandate, the Senate is not expected to approve the merged legislation.
The deadline for the next doc fix is March 31. If a temporary or permanent fix is not in place by then, Medicare physician payments under the SGR will be cut by about 24%.