STAT+: House committee hearing kicks off potential doctor pay reforms in Medicare
House lawmakers discussed whether Medicare should pay doctors more, but they didn't talk about how to pay for pay hikes.
WASHINGTON — The House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee kicked off its first hearing in four years on whether to reform the way Medicare pays doctors. But they didn’t discuss how to pay for those changes.
Lawmakers brought up 23 different bills on the topic, many of which are drafts that haven’t been introduced.
A few bills addressed expiring payment initiatives. If Congress does not act before the end of the year, Medicare will cut payments to doctors in certain rural areas and laboratories that run tests used in caring for patients. Multiple committee members also discussed whether Medicare payments to doctors should be indexed to inflation.
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