Members of the House Energy and Commerce's health panel will be seeking specific answers from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's chairman on physician payment and the impact of health reform on Medicare beneficiaries at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
MedPAC Chairman Glenn Hackbarth will be the sole witness testifying before the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). The hearing will be examining MedPAC's June 2010 report to Congress, which
made a number of recommendations to align incentives to promote quality, value and efficiency of care in the Medicare program.
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), who chairs the Congressional Health Care Caucus, wants answers from Hackbarth on MedPAC's plans to address Medicare's troubled sustainable growth-rate formula, which has been threatening cuts to physician payments for a good part of a decade.
Congressional inaction recently allowed
a 21.2% Medicare pay cut to go into effect for physicians.
Burgess plans to ask Hackbarth if the SGR should be eliminated, if MedPAC considers this issue to be a priority, and what effects the White House's new independent advisory board will have on the SGR, and more specifically, on the commission's goals, an aide stated.
Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who also serves as vice chair of Energy and Commerce, will be focusing more of her questions on beneficiary concerns. Ensuring that seniors don't lose access to important benefits as insurance companies drop Medicare Advantage programs, is a concern of DeGette's, her aide said.
In addition, DeGette will be asking for specific recommendations on moving towards high-value care-- particularly how beneficiaries can make a difference in achieving better healthcare.
