Under the plan, which the House would vote on next week, all physicians get a raise instead of a fee-cut. They would get almost $60 billion more over three years, broken down into a 1.3 percent increase this year and a 1 percent increase in 2011.
In 2012 and 2013, primary care physicians and those in preventive services would get an additional raise amounting to growth in the gross domestic product plus 2 percent, while other doctors would get GDP plus 1 percent.
Although this would be the first time primary care physicians get paid at a higher rate, it won’t be the last. The reform bill calls for an eventual 10 percent increase in Medicare payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons for providing certain services, such as preventive visits and management of acute medical problems.
Read Politico’s report on the physician fee fix.
