Posted on 11/10/2009 4:35:15 AM PST by Koblenz
WASHINGTON The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Oct. 30 a 21.2 percent 2010 pay cut for physicians participating in Medicare.
CMS officials said they had anticipated a 21.5 percent pay cut for physicians in 2010, but new data allowed them to lower the cut to 21.2 percent.
"The administration tried to avert the pending fee schedule cut in the FY 2010 budget proposal that it submitted to Congress, and remains committed to repealing the sustainable growth rate," said Jonathan Blum, director of the CMS' Center for Medicare Management.
In the meantime, CMS officials are preparing a proposal to remove physician-administered drugs from the definition of 'physicians' services' for purposes of computing the physician fee schedule update. While this decision will not affect payments for services during CY 2010, CMS projects it will have a positive effect on future payment updates, Blum said.
CMS is also adopting several refinements to Medicare payments to physicians that are expected to improve payment rates for primary care services relative to other services, Blum said.
J. James Rohack, MD, president of the American Medical Association, said the pay cut is the largest that physicians participating in Medicare have had to face. Access to care and choice of physicians for seniors is at risk unless Congress permanently fixes the payment formula, he said.
"Short-term fixes have grown the problem," Rohack said. "In four years the cost of a permanent solution ballooned from $49 billion to more than $200 billion and cuts increased from under 5 percent to a whopping 21.2 percent."
CMS is mandated to adjust the Medicare physician fee schedule annually, based on a formula using the sustainable growth rate adopted in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Using the formula, CMS has issued negative updates every year beginning in 2002. Congress has intervened over the past several years to postpone a pay cut.
CMS expects the final rule to be published in the Nov. 25 Federal Register, and the agency will accept comments until Dec. 29.
The House is expected to vote soon on legislation (H.R. 3961) to permanently repeal the current Medicare physician payment formula.
I work for a wonderful Doctor who is a staunch Democrat and Obama supporter. They just had our biller email one of our Senators about this.
How’s that change working out now? I just hope it doesn’t end up costing my job.
Your daughter is wise beyond her years.
You are blessed.
SOME PIGS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS...............
This will simply start the rationing of care to seniors in advance of Obamacare. Medicare patients will start to find it hard to see a physician and hospitals will start to limit procedures or Medicare admissions. Look for signs “We have reached our Medicare quota and no new Medicare patients will be accepted”
Ever wonder why the AMA, a supposed advocate for Drs is supporting Obamacare? I would argue that this proves they are just a leftist front group since when the interests of the Drs they supposedly support conflict with that of a Leftist agenda, the agenda wins. The same can be said of AARP, and NOW.
“Taking out the middle man will always save everyone money...............”
BINGO!!Therein you’ve defined the problem with gov’mt at the Federal, State, and Local level....there’s not enough profit in enough businesses’ in the world to sustain all those fantasies...
“Hoo-weee, Hope and Change. Well, I Hope that people will beable to find a Dr for their care needs after this Change.
I Hope I do not need to Change Drs because of this.”
Good luck to you and the rest of us re keeping our doctors.
Yesterday, my wife, an office RN noticed a sign on the door of another private practice FP/MD noting that his office was for rent starting 1 Jan 2010.
After a little detective work on her part and feedback from friends who were patients of this FP, and staff from that office, she found out:
1. The liberal baby boomer doc who turned 62 last month will take early retirement to spend more time with his family. None of his grown children live at home or even in the same community.
2. He plans to supplement his early SS with what’s left of his 401k after the Pelosi/Reid/Frank financial meltdown, the office rental and selling the practice to a new FP. Good luck on the last two. Medical office rentals in California are not going very well, and since his practice has a lot of Medicare/MediCal patients, no doctor in his/her right mind will pay a penny for his practice.
If this is happening to liberal boomer docs, the conservative MDs in or near retirement will look like East Berliners escaping the wall when there were two Germanies.
Feel sorry for our elderly...no one will be taking care of them except maybe new medical doctors paying off their gubmint loans
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