Medicare wants health system change; puts $3.5B of GME's funds at risk

MedPAC wants the next generation of MDs to be cost-conscious, evidence-minded, and amenable to standardization of care. To prod GME programs to train young MDs thusly, the influential government advisory body recommends allocating $3.5B of the $9.5B annual GME outlay as at-risk incentive payments. A proposed committee would have 3 years to design metrics for performance by U.S. postgraduate training programs. NEJM 2011;364:693-695.