"Before we bury the SGR under spilled champagne, we should consider what Congress is actually replacing it with.... [T]he formulaic approach to setting base payment rates is gone, replaced with automatic increases for all doctors from 2015 through 2019.... Assessments will be based on four categories of metrics ... The poorest performing doctors, determined by their composite score drawn from relevant aspects of all four categories, will see their payments cut by up to nine (nine!) percent.... CMS [is required to] publish information regarding physician payments and resource utilization. This type of information was recently published stand-alone ... but must be integrated into the Physician Compare website by 2016."  MORE >>