Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Hope for the impending Medicare cuts?
Some hope from Congress:Under the system, payments to doctors would have to be cut by 5 percent a year through 2016 to meet program spending targets, according to federal estimates.
That is unlikely to happen. Lawmakers fear that any reduction in payments could add to the record increases in Medicare premiums and drive doctors from the program.
Rep. Michael Ferguson, R-N.J., said the mandated cuts system is "fatally flawed and it's time we start writing its obituary today."
Posted by Kevin |
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Comments:
sigh...
Can't tell the difference between a fee cut and a fee increase?
How much healthcare is spent on docs? Get back to me when you know the answer
Can't tell the difference between a fee cut and a fee increase?
How much healthcare is spent on docs? Get back to me when you know the answer
# posted by 
: 2:49 PM
: 2:49 PM
I am a strong advocate for SGR reforms and oppose any fee reduction under Medicare. But I don't buy this physician argument that Medicare, with more cuts, is going to become like Medicaid - where a pregnant woman may really have trouble finding a physician who will take her Medicaid insurance.
I say this because Medicare's coverage is only growing. I know we always talk about physician shortages, but looking at the data these are really regional deficiencies. In many parts of the country the opposite is actually true. Medicare coverage accounts for too large a percentage of the patient population for physicians en masse to flee the program (no matter how bad reimbursement gets).
Sure, the roster of physicians refusing to take on Medicare patients will increase with fee cuts, and that'll cause some inconvience to some Medicare patients. But I don't see how it's possible that enough physicians can forgo these patients so that it will ever get to a level where most Medicare patients are significantly disadvantaged in terms of finding a physician within their area.
I'm not sure healthcare providers have anywhere near the leverage they claim to have in blogs and op/eds, when they predict dire consequences with Medicare reimbursement cuts. In many areas of the country there are simply too many physicians for the commercially insured patients.
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I say this because Medicare's coverage is only growing. I know we always talk about physician shortages, but looking at the data these are really regional deficiencies. In many parts of the country the opposite is actually true. Medicare coverage accounts for too large a percentage of the patient population for physicians en masse to flee the program (no matter how bad reimbursement gets).
Sure, the roster of physicians refusing to take on Medicare patients will increase with fee cuts, and that'll cause some inconvience to some Medicare patients. But I don't see how it's possible that enough physicians can forgo these patients so that it will ever get to a level where most Medicare patients are significantly disadvantaged in terms of finding a physician within their area.
I'm not sure healthcare providers have anywhere near the leverage they claim to have in blogs and op/eds, when they predict dire consequences with Medicare reimbursement cuts. In many areas of the country there are simply too many physicians for the commercially insured patients.
