Web Exclusive: Finance Committee releases first health reform paper

Last week, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and the panel's top Republican, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, released options for potential changes to Medicare reimbursement for a wide range of services and procedures performed by hospitals and doctors. The document includes options to avert the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut and several proposals for differential payment for physicians and other providers. Options include bonuses of up to 5 percent for some evaluation and management services typically provided by primary care physicians as well as penalties of up to 5 percent for not meeting quality and other standards, which represents a significant difference in payments. The proposal also includes requiring self-referring physicians to provide patients with written notification of alternative locations for imaging. This is the first in a series of a three documents that is expected to be released by the Senate Finance committee in the coming weeks.