Medicare Physician Payment Reform and Quality Improvement Act of 2006

Bill: 109-hr-5866
Sponsor: Rep. Burgess, Michael C. [R-TX-26]
Introduced: 2006-07-24 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Chronically ill
Commerce
Communication in medicine
Competitive bidding
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer complaints
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug therapy
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Federal advisory bodies
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government paperwork
Government trust funds
Governmental investigations
Health information systems
Health insurance
Health maintenance organizations
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Imaging systems in medicine
Information technology
Insurance companies
Insurance premiums
Law
Managed care
Medicaid
Medical associations
Medical economics
Medical education
Medical fees
Medical malpractice
Medical records
Medicare
Minorities
Minority health
Patient satisfaction
Performance measurement
Physicians
Preferred provider organizations (Medical care)
Prescription pricing
Quality of care
Rural health
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare

Summary:
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: 
Medicare Physician Payment Reform and Quality Improvement Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise physician payment requirements under the Medicare program, including the physician payment update and quality measures for physicians' services.
 
Terminates application of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), replacing it with a single conversion factor, the Medicare economic index (MEI) minus 1%.
 
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the selection of quality performance measures (Q-measures) for assessing physician, non-physician practitioner, and supplier services and determining ratings for them. Requires such Q-measures to be developed in conjunction with physician specialty organizations and consensus-building organizations. 
 
Eliminates specified limitations on the balance billing of highest income beneficiaries.
 
Revises requirements for the quality improvement program (QIO), including program administration, data disclosure, use of evaluation and competition, quality improvement funding, and qualifications for QIOs under part B (Peer Review) of SSA title XI.
 
Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to permit alternative quality improvement programs under such program.
 
Terminates the availability of funds from the MA Regional Plan Stabilization Fund.
 
Directs the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund to monitor and examine the extent to which the different Medicare funding mechanisms provide an appropriate alignment with the program goals of the respective parts.
 
Provides for a one-year delay in Medicare adjustments in payments for imaging services.
 

 
Eliminates the three-year phase-in for implementation of the reduction in Medicare part B premium subsidies for higher income beneficiaries (thus requiring immediate application of the reduction adjustment).
 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H6526-6532)
action_date: 2006-09-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H6275-6276)
action_date: 2006-08-01
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2006-07-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H6022-6023)
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: Referred to the Committee 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.
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: Referred to the Committee 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.
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: Referred to the Committee 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.
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2006-07-24
text: Introduced in House