title: Repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate: an overview for surgeons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula is used to control Medicare spending on physician services. Under the current SGR formula, physicians face an almost 24% cut to the Medicare fee schedule on April 1, 2015. The US House Way & Means and Energy & Commerce Committees and the Senate Finance Committee released jointly proposed legislation to permanently repeal the SGR, and transition Medicare physician payment to a value-based payment method. This review summarizes the key components of the proposed legislation, and discusses some of the political challenges ahead.
  
  
  METHODS
  House Committees on Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance staff write-ups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physician Medicare reimbursement will move from a volume-based model to a value-based model over the next decade. Surgeons should remain engaged with the political process to ensure repeal of the SGR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, American College of Surgeons, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: naveen.sangji@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Naveen F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Sangji
mesh_terms: D005245:Fee Schedules / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare; D010820:Physicians / Q000191:economics*; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D013043:Specialties, Surgical / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States
keywords: Advocacy; Health policy; Medicare; Physician payment; Repeal; Sustainable growth rate