The North American Spine Society and Alliance of Specialty Medicine made several recommendations to the Senate Finance and Ways and Means Committee as they considered changes to the sustainable growth rate, and while many were incorporated NASS still has concerns, according to a Spine on the Hill blog post.
The concerns in the current SGR proposal include a 0.5 percent update in physician payment for 2014 to 2016 and then a freeze on physician payment through 2023. The bill does not assure a viable fee-for-service system and creates a new budget-neutral, tiered quality payment program measuring individual performance relative to others.
According to the blog post, one of the major concerns is that the new payment program would "ensure that physicians become competitors, rather than collaborators, on quality improvement."
More Articles on Spine Surgeons:
2014 Spine Field Observations: What the Future Demands of Spine Surgeons
8 Spine and Neurosurgeons on the Move
Spinal Fusion, Total Knee Replacement Have Similar Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes