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  <title>Bill Analysis - GOP.gov</title>
  <link>http://www.gop.gov/</link>
  <description>Bill Analysis from Republicans in Congress</description>
  <language>en-US</language>
  <lastBuildDate>Thursday, March 18, 2010</lastBuildDate>
  <pubDate>Thursday, March 18, 2010</pubDate>
      <item>
        <title>H.R. 3961: Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act</title>
        <keywords>paygo, medicare reform, healthcare, committee on ways and means, committee on energy and commerce, budget</keywords>
        <link>http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr3961</link>
        <description><![CDATA[<strong>Rep. Dingell, John D. | Committee on Energy and Commerce</strong> <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal   0               false   false   false      EN-US   X-NONE   X-NONE                                                     MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable	{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";	mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;	mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;	mso-style-noshow:yes;	mso-style-priority:99;	mso-style-qformat:yes;	mso-style-parent:"";	mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;	mso-para-margin:0in;	mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;	font-size:11.0pt;	font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";	mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;	mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";	mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;	mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;	mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;	mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";	mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}</style><![endif]--></p><p>H.R. 3961 provides for an increase in Medicare physician reimbursements for 2010 equal to the increase in medical inflation, and recalibrates the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) mechanism such that year 2009 physician expenditures shall be used as the new baseline for computing whether total physician payments exceed the SGR targets.&nbsp; The bill establishes two separate conversion factors-one for evaluation and management services, including primary care and preventive services, and one for all other services provided.&nbsp; Thus evaluation and management services and all other specialist services would receive different annual payment rates, based on the growth of each service over time; the former would also receive a higher conversion factor under the bill-GDP growth plus two percent for evaluation and management services, as opposed to GDP growth plus one percent for all other services.&nbsp; Finally, the bill allows accountable care organizations established to opt-out of the national expenditure targets created in the bill and establish their own organization-specific targets.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>]]></description>
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