MedPage Today reports that members of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health unanimously agreed that the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula must be replaced. However, legislators remain divided on how best to address the issue. Some witnesses at the Thursday subcommittee hearing advocated for implementing a 5-year period of stable Medicare payments while new pay models—including accountable care organizations—are tested. Under the SGR, a nearly 30 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursement is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. (From AAOS Headline News May 6, 2011).

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