Big ACO Push at Heart of Policy Group's Healthcare Overhaul Plan

Medicare providers could see both bigger pay increases and bigger cuts than offered in the current system under a high-profile, bipartisan overhaul proposed Thursday.

The single largest provider benefit in a proposed overhaul from the Bipartisan Policy Center—founded in 2007 by former Republican and Democratic congressional leaders—is the elimination of the sustainable growth-rate formula. That payment system has required congressional patches to avert Medicare physician pay cuts every year since 2002, including a 24.4% cut required at the end of this year.

Overall, the slate of Medicare policy and healthcare tax changes would provide a projected $560 billion in federal healthcare savings, which includes the $138 billion cost of eliminating the SGR and its required cuts.

The catch for providers is that they would never receive another increase in their fee-for-service payments, unless their area is given a rural exemption from the HHS secretary.

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Source: Modern Healhcare