The bill calls for physicians to be accountable for less-healthy patients and to submit data to the government to measure the quality of their treatment to patients, according to the report. The government has acknowledged that previous efforts to collect these types of data have not fully accounted for all of the attributes of Medicare patients.
Physicians whose level of testing and procedures fall in the 90th percentile or above will be penalized with a 5 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements, according to the report. Physicians would also be rewarded or penalized based on their compliance on basic quality care procedures, such as giving aspirin to heart attack patients.
Supporters of the provision say it will prevent physicians from inflating healthcare costs and their revenues with unneeded tests and procedures. Opponents say the provisions intrude on the physician-patient relationship and represent the rationing of healthcare, which could harm patients.
Physicians have also expressed concern that the bill does not move to reverse broader scheduled cuts to Medicare. Other areas for concern in the Senate’s bill for physicians are provisions restricting physician-ownership stakes in hospitals and reductions in Medicare reimbursements for specialists, according to the report.
Read the WSJ’s report about physician concerns over healthcare reform.
