One formula can't meet all doctor payment goals.(Physician Payment)

Publication: Medicine & Health

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Come fall, expect Congress and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to increase their attention to a task that's likely upcoming soon--overhauling Medicare's physician-payment formula.

That was the prediction of MedPAC Executive Director Mark Miller at a June breakfast briefing with health reporters. Look for lawmakers and analysts to discuss much "more targeted" methods of updating payments, such as mechanisms to rein in just one set of services whose volume is rapidly increasing--such as imaging services--or schemes to link quality outcomes and efficiency with payments, Miller said.

Like physicians, analysts and lawmakers are concerned about the recent volatility of Medicare Part B payments under the so-called sustainable growth...

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