Other names for this bill
This bill regularly is referred to as MACRA - acronym for Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
It also is called the Permanent Doc Fix, because one of its main provisions prevents a situation in which doctors would have seen a 20-percent in Medicare reimbursement - which could have resulted in many refusing to take Medicare patients.
What this bill does
Among the provisions of this bill are...
o Changes the way doctors are reimbursed for services they provide to Medicare patients. In addition to preventing a large automatic drop in reimbursement, it moves toward compensating based on measures of the quality of care provided.
o Extending the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017.
o Removing Social Security Numbers from newly issued Medicare identification cards.
o Extending the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017.
o Removing Social Security Numbers from newly issued Medicare identification cards.
More information
You can find more details about this bill at GovTrack.us and www.MedicareVotes.org.
For a more in-depth look on how this bill works, visit ObamacareFacts.com.