Medicare reimbursement and Congress games

The AMA’s ineffectiveness continues, as they get banned from the Medicare reimbursement hearings. Shadowfax doesn’t think this is necessarily bad.

I’m not holding out much hope, as those in charge show little foresight as to what will happen when reimbursements are cut. Mrs. Baucus and Stark, go ahead and see what happens if you want to play chicken with doctors.

Comments

Anonymous
In my humble opinion, I take things at face value. The eternal cuts in Medicare are highly intentional and carefully planned. By the way, a 1% “increase” in fees is a big cut when you factor in inflation and practice expense increases.
It is all about disempowering patients and doctors. If you destroy private care, you make patients helpless and dependent on government “solutions,” from the very same corrupt policians and government agencies who maliciously created the problem.
Ed Sodaro MD
shadowfax
Ed,
Just FYI, as someone who has been involved in the process, I can tell you in truth the the medicare part B cuts were not intended. The geniuses who came up with the Sustainable Growth Rate formula in the nineties did not anticipate the growth in part B expenditures to increase at the rate they have. It was designed to put a cap on MD reimbursement (which is itself another story) but was not expected or intended to have its current effect.
Bear in mind that the SGR as it currently exists will wind up cutting MD reimbursement by over 30% by 2011 if left unchanged. Think about that for a moment. 30%. To do something like that intentionally would be insane. The government bean counters may not be our friends, but they’re not nuts, either.
What we have is an unintended consequence of a poorly designed system.
Doc99
In previous physicians’ games of chicken, it seems doctors have been the loudest cluckers. Physicians have caved on every major issue affecting their practice in the last 40 years.
We have only ourselves to blame for the current state of affairs.
Anonymous
There needs to be a National Physician Union. We have to be the only profession in this country than is legally banned from forming a union.
Anonymous
One small problem, unions and their health care/retirement demands have all but destroyed America’s manufacturing base. Try again.
Anonymous
Physicians, for all the freedom and professionalism that has been stripped from them, are still too uppity for the Controllers satisfaction. The collectivists still need to bring us down a few more notches before we all fall in line and goose step to their orders.
Anonymous
Seriously – 9:28 is more right than he knows. Read NHS Blog Doc’s blog sometime. The government unilaterally decided to change the GP contract to make them work more and not coincidentally there was a coordinated campaign in the media bashing doctors every day. Each step towards government control is another step away from the concept of being an individual professional – which is precisely how they want it.
Anonymous
The reason being that they can then solve the resource -demand mismatch by decreeing whatever level of care that they want to fund as being the “standard” without any meaningful dissent from doctors. That is why the soviet health care system was so cheap–doctors didn’t have the standing to oppose them. They also see us as the enemy to the degree of control they want because of other “little” naggling issue of professionalism, like confidentiality. In their imagination, they can solve all sorts of sovial problem by getting docs to substitute their professional duty to their patients with a duty to “society”–but only in their imagination. It didn’t work in Nazi Germany or the soviet union. Making doctors subject to being used as tools of the KGB ultimately failed in it’s aim–but still destroyed professionalism the quality ethical care that requires it.
Anonymous
What are you guys complaining about reimbursement cuts for? Bush is giving you malpractice caps as well. Won’t the massive savings to the system and on your malpractice coverage make up for any paltry reimbursement cuts?
Anonymous
“Bush is giving you malpractice caps as well….”.
Actually no he hasn’t (not that it has anything to do with this conversation). But please do tell more lies to satisfy your agenda.
Anonymous
“What are you guys complaining about reimbursement cuts for? Bush is giving you malpractice caps as well. Won’t the massive savings to the system and on your malpractice coverage make up for any paltry reimbursement cuts?”
What malpractice caps – you mean the bills shot down by the Democrats and Arlen Spector, father of the most prominent malpracice whore in Philadelphia?? There are NO federal malpractice caps. There will need to be when health care reform is enacted, cause I sure ain’t going to practice if I can’t order tests I feel are necessary and/or defensive due to “costs”. Uncle Sam won’t be able to have it both ways.
Anonymous
1:21: Of all the straw men arguments, that has to be the most nonsensical. Bush is giving us malpractice caps? As a lame duck president in a Democratic congress? Uhhh.. no, he’s not. Your post doesn’t even make sense from a sarcastic viewpoint.
Anonymous
>>Bush is giving you malpractice caps as well.
Did I miss something? I always hear TALK about caps at the Federal level, but I never see it.
Anonymous
You guys need to read the current budget proposal as it applies to you.
Although in fairness, you were right to pick up on my sarcasm. Only a fool thinks that malpractice caps will actually benefit physicians.

Medicare reimbursement and Congress games

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