The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Monday released a draft list of offsets for its $200 billion plan to replace the sustainable growth rate formula, which sets Medicare physician payment rates. Since 2002, Congress annually has passed a series of short-term bills to block scheduled cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates under the SGR. The most recent "doc-fix" bill, enacted in December 2010, is scheduled to expire on Jan. 1, 2012, at which point physicians face a 29.4% payment rate cut. MedPAC Chair Glenn Hackbarth last week announced that the advisory panel will vote on a proposal to replace the SGR at its meeting next month.

President Obama released a proposal this week to reduce the federal deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, in part by making cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The plan was developed to provide guidance to the newly created debt panel, which is charged with finding $1.5 trillion in savings by the end of November.

The first super committee debt panel public hearing was held on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. During the hearing, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf offered testimony about the potential consequences of the rising cost of health care and the aging baby boomer population. He warned that federal spending would surpass revenue collected if current policies remain in place. The Congressional Budget Office Director suggested changes in spending, tax policies or both would be required to put the federal budget on a sustainable path.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law comprehensive health care reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although the constitutionality of the law is still being challenged in the courts, it is important for members to be aware of how the law may affect your practice. Over the next several weeks, the AASM Weekly Update is including a synopsis of certain provisions in the bill. This week’s edition will focus on premium subsidies to employers, reinsurance program and tax changes related to health insurance.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law comprehensive health care reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although the constitutionality of the law is still being challenged in the courts, it is important for members to be aware of how the law may affect your practice. Over the next several weeks, the AASM will provide a synopsis of certain provisions in the bill.  This week will focus on the individual mandate, employer requirements, and expansion of program provisions in the law. Visit the AASM website to view part one of the health care reform synopsis.

The bipartisan, bicameral debt panel created by the recent budget agreement will held its first meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8. The first public hearing will be Sept. 13. As part of the recent debt deal, the panel must develop and pass by the end of November at least $1.5 trillion in federal spending cuts over 10 years. Failure to do so would trigger a series of across-the-board cuts. Medicaid would be exempt from those cuts, and Medicare is protected from deep spending cuts. However, the deficit panel is not bound by those stipulations. View the full article on the AASM website for a list of deadlines for the panel.

The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense announced the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database earlier this week. The database is intended to accelerate research on brain injury treatment and diagnosis, and will house new data, link to current databases and allow comparison of results across studies.

A full roster of speakers for the 2011-2012 Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series was made available by the NIH. The first presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 at 3 p.m. EDT, and will feature Dr. Carlos Bustamante, a Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Each following week at 3 p.m., EST, leading biomedical investigators will present their latest findings in a live webcast. Learn more about the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on the NIH website.