Lawmakers propose a permanent 'doc fix'

Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Joe Heck (R-Nev.) introduced a bill Wednesday to reform how Medicare pays healthcare providers and to avoid a cut to reimbursement rates on Jan. 1.

The bipartisan measure would repeal Medicare's current reimbursement formula and replace it with a new system of payment models. It would also give doctors small boosts in payment rates for four years.

Money for the changes would coming from war savings from troop withdrawals in Iraq and Afghanistan — a move Republicans have opposed in the past as a "Ponzi scheme."

Schwartz and Heck, an osteopathic physician, praised the bill as a way to begin a conversation about long-term Medicare reforms.

"Now is the time to fix the broken system once and for all," Schwartz said in a statement. "For far too long we failed America's seniors and created a long-term fiscal nightmare for Medicare by maintaining the status quo."

In a conversation with reporters, Heck called the current reimbursement formula, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), the "single greatest threat to Medicare."

"Members are tired of short-term packages," he said. "This is one of those things I believe can be done in an election year."

He added that the plan is "not a one-size-fits-all mandate to physicians" and cited a "broad swath of support" for the measure within the healthcare community.

The proposal instructs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create new payment model options aimed at giving providers more flexibility based on specialty, region or type of practice.

Doctors who treat Medicare patients are scheduled to see a 30 percent cut to their reimbursements on Jan. 1, 2013, if Congress does not step in.

"With this bill, we are stepping away from across-the-board cuts," Schwartz said.