Today, April 3, 2013, the Energy and Commerce and Ways & Means Committees released a document providing more information on their plans to repeal and replace the Medicare SGR formula.  (Background information on the SGR is available here.)  In February the Committee released an initial framework setting forth a high-level reform development processes and principles.  (A copy of that document is available here.)

The document released today provides greater detail on the Committees’ proposals to replace the SGR.  Specifically, the plan would be implemented in three phases:  Phase I would repeal the SGR and replace it with a series of stable updates.  Phase II would reward providers for the quality of care they provide.  Phase III would build upon the Phase II improvements and would also reward providers for their efficiency.  The Committees are accepting comments on their proposal by April 15th.

A permanent fix to the SGR seems more likely given the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) revised score estimating that a permanent fix would now cost $138 billion (almost half its 2012 estimate of $243.7 billion).  Additional information on the CBO score can be found here.