Physician fee update
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
CMS estimates that Medicare payments to physicians will decline overall by 4.6% in 2007 in an 1April 7 letter to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. The estimate is based on a statutory formula that adjusts payments depending on how actual expenditures compare to a target, sustainable growth rate. Congress previously expressed interest in overriding the formula to better tie physician payments to higher quality, cost-efficient care. CMS writes in the April 7 letter that it supports that goal, but notes that creating such a system still requires "further developments"...