Proposal would "rebase" Medicare SGR.

U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) has outlined a plan to "rebase" the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Rep. Stark’s proposal to reform Medicare includes setting a new baseline for reimbursement rates. Physicians currently face a 21 percent reduction in reimbursement when a July 2008 SGR patch expires on Dec. 31, 2009. A new patch would cost an estimated $20 billion. According to Mr. Stark, eliminating the overall rate cuts under the current SGR system over the next 10 years would cost the federal government from $200 billion to $300 billion, so Congress must change the baseline that the SGR uses to set up fee increases.