SGR: Data, Measures and Models; Building a Future Medicare Physician Payment System

On February 14, 2013, Urban Institute Fellow Robert Berenson testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on ways to improve the Medicare physician payment system. While everyone agrees that paying for value and not volume is important, Dr. Berenson argues value should be derived from how well particular services are performed as well as the mix of services beneficiaries receive. The current Medicare Fee Schedule reimburses too many technically oriented services and procedures, and not enough patient-clinician interactions to diagnose, and develop treatment approaches consistent with a patient's values and preferences. Nor does it encourage care coordination and other patient-centered activities that could improve patient outcomes.

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