I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2585 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to modify Medicare physician 
reimbursement policies to ensure a future physician workforce, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 6, 2007 
Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to modify 
Medicare physician reimbursement policies to ensure a 
future physician workforce, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Ensuring the Future Physician Workforce Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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TITLE I—PAYMENT AND QUALITY INCENTIVES 
Sec. 101. Resetting to 2007 the base year for application of sustainable growth 
rate formula; elimination of sustainable growth rate formula in 
2010. 
Sec. 102. Quality incentives. 
TITLE II—HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INCENTIVES 
Sec. 201. Health information technology (HIT) payment incentive. 
Sec. 202. Safe harbors to antikickback, civil penalties, and criminal penalties 
for provision of health information technology and training 
services. 
Sec. 203. Exception to limitation on certain physician referrals (under Stark) 
for provision of Health Information Technology and training 
services to health care professionals. 
Sec. 204. Rules of construction regarding use of consortia. 
TITLE III—INFORMATION AND REPORTS 
Sec. 301. Information for physicians on Medicare billings. 
Sec. 302. Information for beneficiaries on Medicare expenditures. 
Sec. 303. Collection of data on Medicare savings from physicians’ services di-
version. 
Sec. 304. Trustees’ ongoing examination of Medicare funding. 
Sec. 305. Independent study on Medicare Relative Value Unit Scale Update 
Committee (RUC) process. 
Sec. 306. Study of reporting requirements on health care disparities. 
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 401. Acceleration of nationwide implementation of audit contractor pro-
gram. 
TITLE I—PAYMENT AND 
QUALITY INCENTIVES 
SEC. 101. RESETTING TO 2007 THE BASE YEAR FOR APPLI-
CATION OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE 
FORMULA; ELIMINATION OF SUSTAINABLE 
GROWTH RATE FORMULA IN 2010. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1848(d)(4) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–4(d)(4)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)— 
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(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub-
paragraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 
(D) and (G)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(G) REBASING TO 2007 FOR UPDATE AD-
JUSTMENTS BEGINNING WITH 2008.—In deter-
mining the update adjustment factor under sub-
paragraph (B) for 2008 and 2009— 
‘‘(i) the allowed expenditures for 2007 
shall be equal to the amount of the actual 
expenditures for physicians’ services during 
2007; 
‘‘(ii) subparagraph (B)(ii) shall not 
apply to 2008; and 
‘‘(iii) the reference in subparagraph 
(B)(ii)(I) to ‘April 1, 1996’ shall be treat-
ed, beginning with 2009, as a reference to 
‘January 1, 2007’.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(8) UPDATING
BEGINNING
WITH
2010.—The 
update to the single conversion factor for each year 
beginning with 2010 shall be the percentage increase 
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in the MEI (as defined in section 1842(i)(3)) for 
that year.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING SUNSET.—Section 1848(f)(1)(B) 
of such Act is amended by inserting ‘‘(ending with 2008)’’ 
after ‘‘each succeeding year’’. 
SEC. 102. QUALITY INCENTIVES. 
(a) EXTENSION OF CURRENT QUALITY REPORTING 
SYSTEM
AND TRANSITIONAL BONUS INCENTIVE PAY-
MENTS FOR 2008 AND 2009.— 
(1) EXTENSION OF QUALITY REPORTING SYS-
TEM THROUGH 2009.—Section 1848(k) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w(k)) is amended— 
(A) in the heading of paragraph (2)(B), by 
inserting ‘‘AND 2009’’ after ‘‘2008’’; and 
(B) in paragraphs (2)(B) and (4), by in-
serting ‘‘and 2009’’ after ‘‘2008’’ each place it 
appears. 
(2) EXTENSION OF AND INCREASE IN BONUS 
PAYMENTS FOR 2008 AND 2009.—Section 101(c) of 
the Medicare Improvement and Extension Act of 
2006 (division B of Public Law 109–432) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘, 2008, 
AND 2009’’ after ‘‘2007’’; 
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(B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(or 3 
percent in the case of reporting periods begin-
ning after December 31, 2007)’’ after ‘‘1.5 per-
cent’’; 
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘single 
consolidated payment.’’ and inserting ‘‘single 
consolidated payment for each reporting period. 
Such payment shall be made for a reporting pe-
riod within 30 days after the date that required 
information has been submitted with respect to 
claims for such period.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘the 
period beginning on July 1, 2007, and ending 
on December 31, 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘each of 
the five consecutive 6-month periods beginning 
on July 1, 2007, and ending on December 31, 
2009’’. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW QUALITY INCENTIVE 
SYSTEM EFFECTIVE IN 2010.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1848 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w) is amended by 
striking subsection (k) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(k) PHYSICIAN QUALITY INCENTIVE SYSTEM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a reporting system (in this subsection referred 
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to as the ‘Physician Quality Incentive System’ or 
‘System’) for quality measures relating to physi-
cians’ services that focuses on disease-specific high 
cost conditions. Not later than January 1, 2010, the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) identify the 10 health conditions that 
have the highest proportion of spending under 
this part, due in part to a gap in patient care, 
and for which reporting measures are feasible; 
and 
‘‘(B) adopt reporting measures on these 
conditions, based on measures developed by the 
Physician Consortium of the American Medical 
Association. 
‘‘(2) ADD-ON PAYMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide, in a form and manner specified by the 
Secretary, for a bonus or other add-on payment 
for physicians that submit information required 
on the conditions identified under paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Such a bonus or add-on 
payment shall be equal to 1.0 percent of the 
payment amount otherwise computed under this 
section. 
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