The Senate Finance Committee has begun a series of roundtable discussions on Medicare payment reform in an attempt to develop a new physician payment system. North Carolina Senator Richard Burr is a member of this committee. The first meeting in this series was held last Thursday, May 10, 2012, where a panel discussed the history of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Panelists included four former CMS directors: Gail Wilensky, Bruce Vladeck, Tom Scully and Mark McClellan, MD.  According to AMA reports, there was universal agreement at this meeting that the SGR must be eliminated. Read written statements from each of the panelists here. The NCMS will offer regular updates in the Bulletin regarding the Committee’s progress.