Following a similar initiative on the House side, leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are inviting provider input on Medicare physician payment system reform. Specifically, Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) are requesting information on: (1) what specific reforms should be made to the physician fee schedule to ensure that physician services are valued appropriately; (2) what specific policies should be implemented that could co-exist with the current physician payment system and would identify and reduce unnecessary utilization to improve health and reduce Medicare spending growth; and (3) within the current fee-for-service system, how can Medicare most effectively incentivize physician practices to undertake the structural, behavioral, and other changes needed to participate in alternative payment models? Additional information, including a full copy of letter from Senators Baucus and Hatch to the health care provider community, is available here. Responses are due by May 31, 2013. The panel also has scheduled a May 14 hearing on "Advancing Reform: Medicare Physicians Payments."
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